


Pack Wars

by neil4god



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU after 3x04, And I should probably apologies for the dark turn this took, Angst, BAMF Stiles, Boyd's Alive, Comforting Derek, Compasses of Doom, Consent issues kinda(ish), Cora exists!, Cora's pov, Creeper Peter being Cool, Danny is very uncomfortable with all of this, Deacaulion POV, Derek is the Alpha, Dom/sub Play, Dumbass Scott, Hurt Derek, Hurt Stiles, I worry about Derek's childhood, Lock picking Stiles, Lydia being awesome, M/M, Mean Sheriff, Minor Star Trek Into Darkness Spoilers, Mpreg mentioned, Ms Blake - Freeform, Mysterious Deaton, Pack Cuddles, Pack Dynamics, Physical/Corporal punishment, Public Flagellation, Riding Crops, Sacrifices Still A Thing, Scott just doesn't get it, Sheriff is kinda' cool about things - i say kinda, Sheriff mans up!, Stiles needs a safeword, Subspace, alpha pack, alpha pair, bdsm relationship, canon character death, canon level violence, lots of blood, magic Lydia, pack bonds, pop culture references, rebuilding Hale house, some smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-26
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2017-12-24 16:35:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 17
Words: 24,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/942145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neil4god/pseuds/neil4god
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek can't do it anymore so it's up to Stiles now, he has to be the one in charge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He was beyond pissed, it had kept him going on the drive over to Derek’s loft and the elevator ride up. It had him slamming through Derek’s front door ready to kill the broody alpha. Derek was waiting for him, he’d probably heard the jeep a block away, he kept his back to him staring out the window at the rain while Stiles shouted “I have a crying werewolf in my bedroom Derek, so whatever you did to him, explain and apologise.”  
“It’s better this way.” He was so sick and tired of his attitude. Giving up was never the best option, letting out his frustration Stiles called him on it screaming “Bullshit! Tell me why you kicked Isaac out, what happened?”  
Stiles saw the tension in Derek’s shoulders and way he held himself carefully like he’d been hurt but he waited patiently for Derek to tell him “The alpha’s are coming Stiles and they want me to kill my pack. It’s safer if he stays away from me. Scott will take care of him.”   


All things considered that was an awful plan and he didn’t hesitate to tell Derek why “Scott can barely wipe his own ass! Now you are going to grow some balls and fix this. Throwing Isaac to Scott doesn’t solve anything. All it does is play into their hands. Without Isaac you’re weaker Derek. A pack’s strength is as a whole, you don’t know what they really want, what their game plan is so you need to think before you do anything stupid.”  
He knows it’s not fair to lay everything on Derek but he can take it, he can figure this out if he just stops reacting and starts thinking things through. 

At least that’s the assumption Stiles had been labouring under, Derek yanks that rug right out under his feet when he whimpers “Stiles I don’t know what to do anymore. Everything just keeps falling apart over and over again.”  
Derek was crying quiet broken sobs, his voice rough with tears and his hands shaking. Derek was losing it and that was not acceptable. Sure he was here because Isaac was freaking out which made Scott freak out, but Stiles was really here to see Derek. He was here because Derek was his maybe more than friend and he wanted to know he was ok. This was not ok, this was so far from ok that Stiles was going to have to put on his big boy pants, the ones his dad and Scott hated and man the fuck up. Stepping right up to Derek’s back he invaded his personal bubble, pressing his cheek against his back so Derek could feel his words rumbling through his torso “Ok. My house six o clock bring Thing 1 and Thing 2.” Derek stayed perfectly still under his weight, letting Stiles lean against him for a moment before asking hesitantly “Why?” Pulling back Stiles thought about that but couldn’t come up with anything better than “Because I said so.”  
He left the loft and headed for his jeep, he had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it.


	2. Chapter 2

6pm The Sheriff’s House

He’d been preparing for hours and he still felt unsure, but one glance at Derek had him firming his resolve. He had to do this, it was the only way they were going to survive. Stiles isn’t sure when exactly he started to think of Derek as his to keep and protect, but it was too late to stop it now. Brushing his fingers through Derek’s hair Stiles answered the door and ushered Isaac and Scott inside, pushing him towards Derek on the sofa, “Isaac take a seat beside Derek please.”  
The boy took one look at Derek and superglued himself to Scott, “That’s ok I’ll just sit with Scott.”  
Scott plonked himself down onto the two seater, studiously ignoring Peter and Cora in the corner, Isaac hesitated hovering near Scott. That was unacceptable, making his tone firm he commanded “Now Isaac.”  


Reluctantly Isaac sat down beside Derek, his body pressed against the couch as far away from Derek as possible. “Good. Now Derek would like to apologise for his behaviour. He was upset and behaved irrationally, after the alphas skewered him with a drainpipe, he was feeling a little insecure. He behaved badly but he did it to protect you. He wanted you somewhere safe. Now Derek apologise and cuddle him so he can move out of Scott’s bedroom and go home.”  
He couldn’t stop the harsh edge to his voice when he told them about the alpha’s hurting Derek. He hated that they had hurt him, he hated even more that Derek hadn’t received comfort from anyone over it or anything else that had happened to him since Laura died. If Stiles could fix the pack then Derek would have that emotional cushion back again. He would have someone to lean on and to hold him when he cries. 

It wasn’t just for Derek’s benefit though. He knew how emotionally damaged Isaac was, the boy was jumble of insecurities and needed to be comforted and reassured that he was loved. Even now he was asking Derek hesitantly “Is that true?”  
Stiles nodded to Derek, encouraging him to use his words “It was dumb. I should have thought it through more. I just didn’t want you getting hurt.”  
It wasn’t huge but it was a good start, Isaac leaned in a little closer to Derek and Derek relaxed a little more. Clapping his hands together Stiles smiled brightly and headed for the door waving at the table filled with food. “Alright, help yourselves to the food and drink on the table while I get the door.” 

He waved Lydia and Danny through to the sitting room, trying not to lose his temper when she said “I don’t see what I’m doing here Stiles, unlike you Danny and I both have boyfriends.”  
She was his friend and a goddess and sometimes he really wanted to hurt her. Battling that down he tried to translate some of his rage into snark replying, “Scary alpha boyfriends who want to run us all through with their claws. Good choice Lydia.”  
She nodded her head in acknowledgment before assessing the seating options in the room and sitting on the end of the couch shoving Isaac closer to Derek. Settled primly in her place, she cast a glare at Stiles that would have had anyone else on their knees whimpering, “Why is Peter hiding in the corner?”  
“I’ll get to that just sit down somewhere and Danny no freaking out.”  
He could see the boy was still having trouble dealing with things, but he had other things to worry about right now than Danny. 

He was maybe freaking out just a little but he kept his heart rate under control not wanting to alarm Derek. Stiles smiled brightly, probably too brightly at Allison and Chris and reached past them pulling Boyd into the house by the arm. “Hey Allison, Mr Argent I’m so glad you could make it. Please come in. Boyd, take a seat on the couch.”  
He shoved Boyd in Derek’s general direction but the boy took a seat on the floor far away from him instead. Frowning Stiles tried not to let his irritation show, instead focusing on Scott when he asked “Why are we here Stiles?” 

His nerves were starting to get the better of him but there was a lot riding on this and if he messed up then they would all be screwed. He made his way to the middle of the room, careful not to step on anyone, “Everyone’s here good. Firstly thank you all for coming, I really appreciate it. To answer your question Scott we are here to defeat the Alphas. They’ve been pretty much kicking our asses and we need to fix that. We can’t fight them apart, so we need to unite. To show just how much we need this I am officially joining Derek’s pack.”  
Scott was out of his chair like a light, rounding on Stiles shouting “What? You can’t!”  
He kept his cool though smirking at Derek, he had so won that bet. Feeling more in control of the situation Stiles told him “Yes Scott I can and for god’s sake sit back down.”  
The other boy slumped back into his chair mumbling “But Stiles you’re my pack.”  
It made his chest ache to see Scott this sad, but he had gone through his options and this was the best way. Speaking softly, not wanting to upset him anymore Stiles met his eyes and told him “You’re not an alpha Scott and even if you were I have never followed you. You’re my best friend but Derek is my alpha.”  
He knew Scott would understand, after all it was the truth. Stiles had been telling Scott what to do all their lives, it was too late to change their dynamic, he could never follow Scott. “Are you going to turn?”  
He snorted loudly, “Of course not that would cause more problems that it would solve.” 

Chris interjected leaning forward in his chair to ask “Is that why we’re here then? To know about the pack expansion because we’re not hunting anymore Stiles.”  
He said that but his eyes had taken in every exit and every wolf’s position in the room. He was a trained killer and pretending he wasn’t wouldn’t get them anywhere. This was Argent’s hunting grounds, to pretend it wasn’t would do them all a disservice. “I know that Mr Argent. You are still Argent’s though and this is your territory just as much as it’s Hales. In light of that I have drawn up a contract. I would like to create an alliance with you. Even if you’re not hunting anymore I would feel safer knowing that we had this worked out. It’s pretty basic, just to keep each other updated and informed of anything going on in Beacon Hills. It includes an introduction to any new pack members or hunters you may know of in the area. There is also a six month expansion pack.”  
He handed Christ and Allison the binder’s he’d had printed while Isaac burst into the conversation with a confused, “Like a video game?”  
At first he wanted to laugh but then he thought about it and it actually made sense. Smiling at the beta he told him “Yes like a video game Isaac.”  
He watched the pleased grin on Isaac’s face and how it gave him the confidence to move a little closer to Derek. 

Turning his attention back to Chris he continued, “Within the first six month period you have the option of joining the pack at any time as either wolves or human, the choice is entirely yours and after six months if you don’t want to then that’s fine too. The paperwork is in front of you, if you want to read through it while we deal with some pack business.”  
He waited for some sort of acknowledgement but Allison was too busy mooning over Scott’s hurt feelings to pay him any attention. Chris perused the binder slowly flicking through pages before looking up, “This is quite thorough.”  
There was an accusation there, something hidden that Stiles didn’t want to delve into instead he smiled cheerily and made his voice light “I like to make sure everything’s as clear as possible.”  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm Mr. Thick Thick Thickety Thick-face from Thick-town, Thickania. 
> 
> I stupidly left out the first two paragraphs of this chapter - this is what happens when you have different versions of one story floating about your hard drive!  
> Anyway it should make way more sense now.

He was about to move on when Scott interrupted him, having just put together something Stiles had mentioned earlier. Vibrating in his chair Scott pointed his finger at Stiles demanding his attention, “When did you tell Danny? Why did you tell Danny? Stiles this was supposed to be a secret.”  
Brushing it aside because he was on a timetable dammit, Stiles barely looked at him, “Don’t interrupt me again Scott. Now Lydia you are joining the pack.”  
She smirked at him waiting for his sales pitch. Oh she was smart, she knew exactly what he was doing. She didn’t seem to mind though or at least she wasn’t complaining, instead she simply asked “Why should I?” 

He had practiced this in front of the mirror for almost an hour earlier. Lydia had to join the pack, they needed her. Swallowing hard he tried to appear confident telling her “You’ve been blacking out again and waking up next to dead bodies. Everything in your life is seeped in the supernatural and we can help you with that. I’ve already been playing the role of moral support, this will just formalise that. I know you have reservation because of Peter, but I will deal with that.”  
He would, he had a plan to fix that but she would completely flip when he told her so she had to be pack first. Tossing her hair over one shoulder she pretended to think about it, laughing when she confirmed what he knew, “Ok then, I guess I’m pack.”  
Even though he had been expecting it his relief was palpable and he saw Derek mirror his reaction, taking a deep breath in. Looking down to face Danny on the floor at Lydia’s feet he asked “Well Danny are you in?”  


Danny had reacted well enough to the news that werewolves are real, things had been so weird lately that he’d sort of suspected something supernatural was going on but it was still a lot to lay on a guy. Obviously Danny agreed with that assessment darting a glance at Stiles before looking down mumbling “I’m still kind of confused by all of this Stiles. I mean I only found out werewolves are real four hours ago!”  
Danny was looking around the room searching for answers, but there weren’t any. Everyone waited patiently for him to answer, even Isaac stayed quiet grabbing a bag of chips from the table and digging in. This was Danny’s choice and Stiles wouldn’t take that away from him.  
He didn’t have to make it any harder for him though, “We’re your friends and it’s with us and in the loop or back to wondering what we’re talking about at lunch.”  
Danny stared up at him through his lashes, watching him silently for a minute before saying loudly “Ok then I’m in.”  
Stiles saw Derek smiling slightly, trying to hide it by sipping from his soda, it made him happy seeing Derek like that but he knew it wouldn’t last long, Boyd was next. 

He knew this was going to go badly, but it had to be done. “Boyd, I asked you to sit on the couch.”  
The beta was sitting cross legged on the floor with a chocolate bar in hand and a soda beside him, Stiles really hoped that accepting his hospitality would lead to accepting a place in the pack, but Boyd’s answer skipped the point completely, “I’m more comfortable on the floor.”  
Sure it was a comfy floor but that’s not what was going on here, he needed to be with Derek, with his pack, he told him as much “That’s not relevant, I asked you to sit with your pack. Will you sit with them? I know you left before, you ran away because things got too scary, most Alpha’s wouldn’t allow that but Derek doesn’t want to force anyone to do something they don’t want to.”  
Boyd was the strong silent type so Stiles expected to wait for an answer, but he didn’t, it was immediate and it was negative and Stiles could feel how much it hurt Derek to hear. “I’m sorry Stiles but I don’t want to be pack.”  
This was killing Derek, even Isaac whimpered a little, but Stiles straightened his spine and dealt with it. “Fair enough, if you show yourself out please and try not to get yourself killed, I’ve been to enough funerals.”  


It was colder than he had planned, but he really hadn’t expected Boyd to give up, he hadn’t expected it to hurt so much either. Boyd set down his chocolate bar beside his soda and got to his feet slowly, towering over Stiles. “That’s it I just have to leave?”  
They had enough trouble as it is, they can’t have omega’s running around Beacon Hills putting the pack in danger, so he swallowed hard and told him, “Yes and as soon as you finish school you can make it permanent. Go to college out of state and stay there. If you want to come home for Christmas or holidays then write to Derek and ask for his permission.”  
He saw the ripples of reaction across the room, why was everyone so surprised, Derek was the alpha, it’s his pack or no pack. Cora was looking pissed off in the corner while Peter smiled, he would worry about that later. Boyd’s broken “But this is my home” brought him back to focus. He had to be strong for Derek, he had to be strong for the pack, “This is Hale territory and you are no longer a Hale.”  
There he had said it. He saw Derek wince and start to move when Boyd shouted “This is bullshit!” He motioned Derek back, not wanting him to interfere. Calmly he replied “You chose this Boyd. I only offered you another chance because Derek wanted you in the pack.”  
Boyd slammed out of the house knocking over his soda and leaving Danny to clean up the mess. As much as it hurt for Boyd to reject the pack, reject them, Stiles had been against him joining. It had taken Derek convincing him to even consider it an option, to have Boyd throw that back in their face was upsetting. 

Mostly though because it was a harbinger, he knew what was coming next and it was breaking his heart. “Scott you know what’s coming man, are you in or out?”  
He didn’t want Scott to be an omega. He was his best friend, and sure he hadn’t been acting like it, but he was. He wanted him in the pack with Derek where he was at least a little safe. But Scott was bouncing out of his chair, whining “You know I don’t want to join a pack!”  
He’d been expecting that, but he had rehearsed this, just like with Lydia. Of course he knew Lydia would agree with Scott this actually mattered. “We all do things we don’t want. It’s part of life.”  
They weren’t juts dumb kids anymore, they had responsibilities, why couldn’t Scott understand that? The other boy just whined again, getting ready to build up his argument “Stiles.” Stiles cut him off, he was not letting Scott do this without at least hearing him out. “No Scott just shut up and listen. This is your last chance to join our pack, I know this isn’t the life you wanted, but it’s the one you were given. If you don’t join us then you’re an omega like Boyd. We won’t involve you in pack business, we won’t come to you for help and we won’t tell you anything that’s going on. When you finish school you’ll leave and you won’t come back. If you do join us then you will not betray us. You will behave like a member of this pack and obey Derek. You will treat your pack members with respect and dignity. You will not plot on your own or sneak off to help whatever new baddy wants us dead. If you join us then this is it for life. Before you answer I want you to know that I had to fight really hard with Derek just to give you this offer. So will you join us?”  
Derek didn’t want him in his pack, not after everything Scott had done and the way he treated Derek. 

Logically Stiles knew Derek was right, Scott had betrayed him, had betrayed everyone but he was still his best friend, so Derek would do this for him. Of course that meant the dumbass had to use his brain for once and say yes. Instead Scott said “I need time to think about this.”  
He was going to kill him, seriously, there was a protractor in his pencil case he could dip in wolfsbane and stab him to death with. It would take ages but it would feel really good. Frustrated and partly homicidal Stiles threw his hands up in the air shouting “It’s a yes or no question Scott. Either you’re in or you’re out.”  
“Why are you pushing this Stiles? You’re supposed to be my best friend!”  
How could he say that after everything they’d been through together? How could he reject him like this? Stiles could feel himself losing his temper and he hated it, he wanted to be in control but how could Scott be that blind? He shouted “I’m pushing this because you’re an idiot who betrayed his Alpha! Anyone else would have killed you for the shit you pulled. I’m doing this because despite not seeing you for the entire summer and being ignored for the whole year before that I am you friend and I want you in my pack. The lone wolf dies Scott, only the pack survives.”  
Scott was in his face now so close Stiles could feel his breath across his cheeks, “Derek has brain washed you!”  
Derek was standing, his hands clenched in fists, but Stiles had warned him his temper wouldn’t hold, he told him to stay out of it. He was still ready to protect him though, he could be between him and Scott in a second. How could Scott not see that Derek was trying so hard to keep it together, to fight the Alpha’s and his pack? How could Scott still not get it? “Derek doesn’t have anything to do with this! This is about you Scott. It’s always about you. Last chance or I’ll take your silence as a no.” He was shaking his breath coming in gasps but he fought for calm, feeling ice settle inside him when Scott looked at Derek then back to Stiles, “I’m sorry Stiles but I don’t want to be pack. I’ll call you tomorrow and we can hang out or something.” 

The ice hardened protecting him from the pain. Letting it fill him he moved away from Scott giving them both space when he said “The bag by the stairs is yours, clothes and stuff you’ve left here. Don’t bother calling me, tomorrow’s pack training and movie night.”  
Scott knew him well enough to know that tone. It was one Stiles hardly ever used because it was so final. It was the voice he used when he was done, he couldn’t take anymore and he wasn’t willing to try. They were done and Scott pleaded and whimpered “Don’t Stiles, please don’t do this.”  
It was pathetic, he was pathetic fighting so hard for someone who didn’t even want him. “Have I ever changed my mind when I’m like this? You knew this would happen when you said no.”  
“Please Stiles.” Scott pulled out the puppy dog eyes that always made Stiles cave, but not this time. “No Scott. I fought for you, I fought werewolves, kanimas and Derek for you but you never fight for me.”  
Scott kept whimpering in the dead silence of the room, his voice cracking “That’s not true Stiles.”  
Pulling the ice into himself, imagining it as a suit of armour he smiled sadly and told him “My heart didn’t skip a beat Scott. You know it’s true. We’ll see you around school.” 

Allison waited until Scott had left the house before accusing him “That was really harsh Stiles.”  
It was life, life is harsh! Stiles moved closer to where Derek was still standing, brushing against his side then motioning him to sit back down before he answered, “I’m sorry Allison, but he knew this was coming and he still chose it. A person can only hang on for so long. Chris have you read the contract? Would you like to make any amendments?”  
They needed to not be talking about this anymore, he needed a distraction from Scott. Chris seemed willing to oblige, saying “No everything seems to be in order and for what it’s worth I think you were right. It was his decision to make.”  
He still made the wrong one though, Scott always made the wrong decisions, Stiles was usually there to fix everything though but not this time. Shaking away the thought he flashed a smile to Chris and Allison, “Thanks. If you both sign them on the space indicated and pass them to Derek for his signature please.”  
He handed Chris the ballpoint pen and watched as he scrawled his name across the end, then passed it along to Allison and finally Derek. 

When Derek had finished Chris got to his feet, pulling Allison up as well “Well that’s us done, what time’s training tomorrow?”  
He was surprised Chris cared enough to ask, hopefully this alliance really would work. He would love to have the Argents as proper members of his pack. “Pack breakfast in the loft at nine, training starts ten thirty at the old Hale place. You’re both more than welcome to come, it’s martial arts for the wolves and guns for the humans.”  
Chris smiled, his blue eyes twinkling “I’ll see you tomorrow then. Come on Allison.”


	4. Chapter 4

Derek waited for the Argents to leave before pulling Stiles into his lap, wrapping him in his arms and nuzzling against his neck, “Are you ok?”   
He forced himself not to cry, not to fall to pieces and simply enjoy the comfort Derek offered. This had been part of his agreement with Derek, to build proper pack bonds they all needed to be more tactile. Derek never touched anyone and Isaac was the same, they were both touch starved so Stiles had decided pack cuddles was going to be a thing. Leaning into the embrace he told Derek “I’ll be fine Derek. Almost done then we can watch a movie and order pizza.”   
Derek let him stand back up, his hands sliding down his body slowly until Stiles was completely out of the embrace. Isaac hurting from Scott’s rejection crushed his body against Derek’s forcing the older man to wrap an arm around his shoulder and draw him into his warmth. Stiles smiled, his plan was already working. Lydia scooched across the couch plastering herself to Isaac in an offer of comfort before asking, “What could possibly be left?” 

Derek tensed up but only for a moment, Stiles still felt compelled to ask, “Derek do you want to stay for this or?”   
The older man looked at his betas and the two humans before nodding to Stiles, “No I’ll stay.”   
That was good, Derek could handle this. Turning his back to them he faced Peter and Cora in the corner, both of them hiding in the shadows. Making his voice sharp he asked “Cora are you a member of this pack?”   
The girl stepped closer to him, coming into the middle of the room sneering, “Of course I am.”  
Well that was something at least, he hadn’t been sure if she was pack or not and neither had Derek. “Good, then you will treat your brother with the respect he deserves. You will heed his commands, obey all orders and stop being such a grade A bitch. You have no idea what he’s been through, what any of us have been through, so you do not get to comment. This pack will be like a family, but don’t think for one second that that means you won’t be disciplined if you misbehave.”  


It really pissed him off the way she treated Derek and he wasn’t going to tolerate it anymore, not now he was in charge. This time when she stepped closer there was a menace in her movements, a predator stalking its prey that wasn’t there before. “The fact that you’re the one saying all this instead of Derek proves what a shitty Alpha he is. He doesn’t deserve my respect and neither do you. I’m not going to follow the orders of some human on a power trip that I could snap in half without breaking a nail.”   
That wasn't fair, Derek was doing a bang up job considering he was better at taking orders than giving them. He was never supposed to be the alpha but he'd been trying his hardest to keep everyone safe. 

She was on the ground in a second, her back arching off the floor, her claws tearing at her eyes, desperate to get the powder out Stiles had thrown in her face. Kneeling over her, his weight trapping her against the ground, Stiles spoke slowly into her ear “You will obey me, you will obey Derek, you will do as you are fucking told because you are the lowest member of this pack and I will rip your throat out if you don’t. I might be a human Cora but I can kill you and unlike Derek I won’t regret doing it. Now get up and show your alpha the respect he deserves.”  
Smoothly pulling his body off hers Stiles bounced onto his feet while Cora prostrated herself in front of Derek, her throat bared in submission, her wolf howling for forgiveness. 

Slowly Derek pushed his mouth against her neck licking a long stripe there and pressing down lightly with his teeth. “I didn’t want to do this Cora but you didn’t give me a choice.”  
His voice sounded broken and Stiles hated that, hated that it had come to this. Derek had suffered enough, been hurt enough for any lifetime, his sister shouldn’t be making that worse. She whimpered against him “I’m sorry Derek. I’m so sorry.”   
Stroking his thumb across her cheekbone, Derek looked to Stiles asking “Stiles do you have something for her eyes?”   
There were wet wiped in the kitchen laid out for this, but Stiles wanted her to remember how this felt, so he told Derek “It’s just itching powder, let her cry it out.”  
Fine so he was a dick, he could live with that. 

“Last order of business and then Isaac can order the pizzas. Peter are you pack?”  
The answer was an immediate and vehement “Yes.” Stiles ran his fingers through Cora’s hair as he passed her to get closer to Peter. This was crucial, this had to be done just right or Peter would betray them all. “Then we are willing to treat you like pack. We will forget your past transgressions and move forward. You will follow the same rules as the rest of the pack. No creepiness allowed. In addition you will train Lydia in magic and act as her personal bodyguard. I need the two of you to resolve your issues and I’m sorry Lydia but the only way to do that is for you to spend time together.”  
He knew she would hate it, but it had to be done. Turning his back on Peter as a sign of trust, he focused on Lydia, hating how she folded in on herself as she spoke quietly “I don’t want him anywhere near me.”  
Lydia was his goddess and she should never be afraid of a member of their pack, this had to be done. “Which is exactly why I’ve put you together. This’ll be good for you both. You need to get a handle on this Lydia and Peter needs to fully integrate into the pack.”  
Her voice was stronger this time, filling the room “He’ll betray us.” 

It was like she was feeding him lines in a play, keeping his heart beat steady Stiles kept his gaze on Lydia “Then I won’t kill him this time. I’ll make him live and he will pray to every god he’s ever heard of for death. That’s why you’ll do this for me Lydia, that’s how he can be pack, I’ll turn him into our very own Prometheus if he betrays us.”  
She stared at him, running her eyes up and down his body reading his sincerity, the smile she sent him was sly and he’d never been so happy to see it. Her gaze flickered once to Peter, three steps closer to Stiles than he had been before, before ignoring him completely in favour of telling Stiles “You know if you’d been more like this in school then I would have dated you years ago.”  
Derek’s low growl filled the room and Stiles couldn’t help but be pleased with that. Plopping down into the space beside Derek on the couch, he put his weight against the older man before leaning across him to tell her, “Thanks Lyds, but I’m over you now. Alright everyone good? Good. Isaac order the pizza.”


	5. Chapter 5

Hours Later in an Abandoned Warehouse

Stiles probably should have told Derek where he was going, but it would only upset him to know his uncle was meeting with Deucalion. Stiles watched from the shadows, covered in a fine powder to keep him hidden from wolfie senses. Deucalion stepped over the debris scattered across the cement, speaking clearly enough for Stiles to hear “Have you thought it over?”  
Peter puffed his chest out, but Stiles could see the uncertainty behind the gesture as he answered “Yes.” Deucalion kept walking forward, his voice soft but firm, Stiles would need to take lessons on that, maybe he could find some on youtube, “Well are you ready to be an Alpha Peter? To take your power back?”  
Stiles glued his eyes to Peter, this was is, would he betray them? He could easily, with Deucalion’s help he could kill Derek and become an alpha again. He could destroy their pack. 

His packmate carefully countered Deucalion’s movement, determined to stay out of range as he said, “The situation has changed Deucalion. I’m afraid I won’t be able to go through with our arrangement.”  
Deucalion tilted his head like a dog, listening in to Peter’s heartbeat probably, “You haven’t gone sentimental have you?”  
Peter’s outrage was immediate, his tone taking on a smugness that Stiles really hated, “Of course not. I simply don’t want to be on the losing side.”  
Deucalion’s response was dead even, a flat statement of fact that sent shivers down Stiles’ spine. “We won’t lose Peter.”  
Peter obviously didn’t share Stiles’ fear, telling the other wolf “Yes you will and no amount of power is worth what he’ll do to me if he thinks I’ve betrayed the pack.”  
Stiles felt satisfaction right down to his toes, it had worked. Peter was on their side! Deucalion kept up his pitch, arguing that “Scott and Derek will kill each other, you don’t have to worry about them anymore.”  
Peter’s smile was pissing Deucalion off but he stayed quiet, letting Peter speak “Oh I’m not worried about them. We’re through Deucalion don’t contact me again.” 

Peter jumped three feet in the air when Stiles removed the powder right in front of him. He hadn’t been invisible, simply unnoticeable. Stiles had joked with Deaton that it was like a perception filter, but he hadn’t gotten it. Peter got himself under control enough to ask “How did you get in here Stiles?”  
He looped his arm through Peter’s and answered as they walked back to his car, “I picked the lock. So how was Deucalion?”  
He felt Peter’s reaction viscerally, able to feel his fear through their pack bonds, “You knew?”  
Why did everyone always underestimate him? He wasn’t an idiot and he had spent a hell of a lot of time at Derek’s loft this summer, “Of course I knew. What does he want you to do?”  


He couldn’t hear his heartbeat or smell what Peter was feeling, but he knew he was being honest with him when he said “Feed him information then wait for Derek and Scott to kill each other. I’m supposed to make the final blow, to become an Alpha again.”  
That made sense, it was what he wanted after all, to become an alpha again. Stiles was curious to know why he turned Deucalion down though, was it just Stiles’ threats or did he really want to be part of their pack? “Why didn’t you go through with it?”  
Peter smiled enigmatically, like Stiles hadn’t heard the entire conversation in the abandoned warehouse. “Who says I didn’t?” 

It was three in the morning he’d had one hell of a day and he was not in the mood for bullshit. He let that show through in his tone and clipped words “Don’t make me repeat myself.” Peter responded to the command in his tone, letting out a heartfelt sigh, “If I can have a pack again a real pack, then I want it. I especially want it if you’re the new Alpha.”  
Stiles wasn’t the alpha, Derek was and even the suggestion had his back up and made him bristle. “Derek’s the Alpha.”  
That had to be clearer than anything else tonight. Derek was the alpha not him. Peter took a moment to look him up and down much like Lydia had earlier, “Well you’re doing a bang up job as Alpha Mate.”  
Derek might not like the connotations or the implications attached to that name, but it was the most accurate term for what Stiles had become. He would put Derek and the pack’s interest’s first and had stepped into the role of Alpha Mate. “It was necessary. I didn’t want to kick Boyd and Scott out, but it had to be done. We need to be a unit in this Peter.”  
He was only doing what was needed. Derek wasn’t in the right head space to do it himself, he still felt too guilty to kick someone out of his pack. “I know.”  
Jingling his keys Stiles heaved himself into the jeep and started the engine, calling out the window “I’m glad you didn’t betray us and welcome to the pack. Breakfast at nine tomorrow don’t forget.”  
“I’ll be there.”


	6. Chapter 6

Stiles was surprised to see Chris and Allison pulling up outside the old Hale place. Smiling brightly he helped Allison unload the back of the truck while Chris sized him up and said “I brought some guns, I wasn’t sure if you could get your father’s or not.”  
That’s what was in the bags then, it explained why they were so heavy. Taking the weight he led them both over to the training area replying “Thanks but I actually have a lot of guns. You mind teaching them about gun safety while I check on Derek a minute?”  
He put the bag on the ground and left them to it, glad to escape another gun safety lecture. “Sure.” 

He found him inside the charred kitchen poking at a cabinet. Pressing his hand against Derek’s back he asked quietly, “Are you ok?”  
Derek stayed put, his hands skirting the kitchen cabinet like he was measuring it. “Yeah. It feels good having everyone here. I can feel the pack bonds strengthening already.”  
Stiles felt Derek’s heart stutter in his chest as he said “I think I might try to rebuild the house. I would like the pack to have a real home.”  
Making a mental note to pick up some interior decoration catalogues and put in some calls to the local contractors, Stiles pressed his nose against Derek’s nape and smiled, knowing he could feel it. Pulling away he grabbed Derek’s arm and tugged him out of the house. “That’s brilliant Derek. Now come on you great big lug, your betas need you to kick their asses.” 

Stiles watched Derek beating up his betas for a bit before crossing back over to where the humans where learning gun safety from Chris. They seemed ok, no one had shot themselves at least and Chris seemed happy with them. “Thanks Chris.” The older man smiled, not his typical ‘I will kill you’ smile, but a genuine ‘I am a good guy’ smile. In all honesty it creeped Stiles out a little how normal it made him look. “No problem Stiles.”  
Turning to the table Stiles picked at the guns, running his fingers over them, enjoying the metal under his skin and told Chris, “I’ve set up some targets, nothing too hard just some basic stuff. You want to stay and practice?”  
His laugh was unsure but he would get over that with time. Stiles wanted him to get over that, they needed this alliance to work if they had any chance of taking on the Alpha Pack. “Actually I just came to make sure at least one person knows how to use a gun properly.”  
He was offended, how could he not be? Did they really think he would arrange this session if he didn’t at least know how to shoot? Stiles was a sniper, he could hit a target dead centre from 300 meters. Put a gun in his hands and he was lethal, his dad had made sure of that. Trying not to let his anger show he tried to laugh it off, “Why does everyone constantly underestimate me? I’m the sheriff’s kid you know. I grew up with guns.”  
Chris watched him fondling the guns as he talked, his quick fingers piecing the Browning together without having to look down. It was second nature to him, he didn’t need to see the gun to know how it fit together. He saw when Chris got it, when he finally realized what was happening here, that Stiles was able to do this, to lead them. For the first time since they met he was looking at him like he saw him as an equal, as a man. Clapping him on the shoulder he said, “For what it’s worth, I won’t do it again. I don’t think anyone will.” 

The training session was a success as was movie night, but it meant that Monday morning Stiles and all of the humans were exhausted. The wolves bounced into school while Lydia offered Stiles makeup to cover the bags under his eyes. They had most of their classes together and the ones they didn’t Stiles re-arranged with the school. It would mean a lot of tutoring for Isaac who had fallen behind after last year, but he knew Isaac could do it. Derek enrolled Cora at Stiles’ behest, Stiles had spent last night fudging the paperwork so Derek could be her legal guardian. That would have to be dealt with later. Derek would need to get legal custody, hopefully his dad would be able to help with that. Peter too, he was a lawyer after all, he should know what forms they need. 

Derek found him at his locker after second period pulling piles of books out looking for that stupid notebook with his homework in it. Derek plucked it from the pile somehow knowing what Stiles was looking for. Muttering about stupid werewolves and their stupid senses Stiles was startled when Derek ran his fingers down his neck to brush over his collarbone. Whatever effect it was supposed to have or symbolize all it did was make Stiles half hard and in these pants that was not a good thing. Derek leaned in to him, following his fingers path with his nose, smelling Stiles’ arousal. Stiles stayed perfectly still, not wanting to do anything to put him off, fighting down his erection as Derek brought his mouth up close to Stiles’ ear, “You need to buy new clothes. You can’t look like a twelve year old anymore.” 

That was not what he was hoping for or in any way expecting. There was nothing wrong with how he dressed. That part he said out loud, watching with fascination as Derek threw his head back and laughed. God he was beautiful, Stiles loved making him laugh and smile, even if it was at his own expense. “Stiles you are leading a pack of wolves, you need to dress appropriately.”  
He knew what that meant and no way. “I’m not getting a leather jacket Derek. I’ll look like a kid playing dress up.”  
Derek was still smiling, his eyes sparkling in the fluorescent light of the hall. “I’ll take you shopping after school, no leather jackets, just some skinny jeans and no plaid.”  
He really could do with some new clothes, most of his old ones had bloodstains or claw marks in them and Lydia was always on at him to wear less plaid. Once he agreed Derek scent marked him again, burning Stiles’ soft skin with his stubble and left leaving Stiles in a puddle of hormones. 

Scott had screwed up so badly last year that he was only in two of Stiles’ classes this year and Stiles was never so grateful for anything. He knew it was bad but the more time he spent with Scott the more likely he was to crack and he couldn’t do that. Derek was depending on him, the pack was depending on him to be strong. He had to stay strong. At lunch the pack waited outside for him so they could walk in together. Allison teetered at the edge of their group for a moment then settled into place beside Isaac. Lydia and Danny ignored their friends offering them seats and took a place with the pack. He felt bad for Scott and Boyd. Scott didn’t really have any other friends and Boyd was back to sitting in the corner by himself pretending he didn’t care. Snapping himself out of it, Stiles grabbed the brown paper bags from his backpack and passed them out, one for everyone. 

It was something his mom used to do when he was a kid and it always made him feel loved so he decided to do it for everyone. It was just a sandwich, juice box and cookies, but he wanted them to know how much he cared about them. Lydia scoffed and Isaac’s eyes went wide and wet. He hated that Isaac was so touched by this. It was such a simple thing. Cora thanked him sincerely and leaned against him inhaling her brother’s scent on his skin, “It’s good that you smell like him.”  
He nodded along knowing what she meant. He had read everything he could find on werewolves when Scott first turned, so he knew how important an alpha’s scent could be. He knew that earlier, even though his body was reacting sexually, Derek was just covering him in his scent, reinforcing his place in the pack. 

For his own personal safety and that of his pack members, Stiles told Lydia about his shopping trip. She would kill him if she found out some other way. The light in her eyes frightened him a little, she was way too excited about a couple pairs of jeans. “We’re coming. If I let Derek take you all you’ll come back with is a black leather jacket and black jeans. So we’ll all go, it can be a family trip.”  
That made his heart trip with joy. She had called them family. He saw Scott storm out of the cafeteria but he didn’t dwell on it. Scott wasn’t pack not anymore. 

Derek hid his frown well, Stiles didn’t think anyone else would be able to interpret the eyebrow wiggle as disapproval. Handing his keys to Isaac he made his way to Derek’s car, letting the others make their own way to the mall. He waited until they were out of the beta’s hearing range before asking him what was wrong. The eyebrows did their thing again as Derek told him it was nothing. Stiles was nothing if not persistent, running his thumb over Derek’s hand on the gear shift Stiles waited for him to explain. Derek knew he was being manipulated, that by touching him Stiles was establishing his right to know as well as offering comfort, Stiles figured it stopped being manipulative if the person you were manipulating knew you were manipulating them. 

Derek huffed and glared but gave in, “Fine I just thought it would be nice if it was just the two of us. That’s all.”  
Ah, that made sense, sort of. “Lydia was worried about what I’d come back with. She called us family Derek. They’re in this for the long haul. We’ll have plenty of time with just us, now we need to focus on getting the pack together.”  
He huffed again keeping his eyes on the road, “I know that.”  
Not sure what the problem was Stiles covered Derek’s whole fist with his hand feeling him relax. “How about we let the pups go back to yours to study and we go to mine for dinner? My dad has the late shift so we’ll have the house to ourselves and we can hang out or talk or whatever you want.”  
Derek’s smile started small when he said pups and got bigger the more Stiles spoke. By the time they got to the mall Derek was full on smiling at everyone, his palm pressed against the small of Stiles’ back as he led him over to the pack and inside.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Some spoilers for Star Trek Into Darkness

Dinner was nice, they made lasagna together and crashed out on the couch watching Star Trek Into Darkness. When the food was gone they snuggled up together, Derek held him close, almost spooning him and it was nice. It was great to feel Derek’s strength wrapped around him holding him like something precious. It went straight to his dick and Stiles spent the first half of the movie fighting down his erection. It was Derek’s fault. He kept touching him, running his fingers across his hips and under his shirt, nuzzling his neck so hard Stiles would probably have beard burn. It was like sensation overload and by the time John Harrison was captured Stiles just couldn’t take it anymore. 

He wiggled out of Derek’s arms, grabbing some plates off the counter and dashing into the kitchen. He just needed to breathe and remind his dick that Derek wasn’t his. This was all part of some werewolf cuddle thing and it wasn’t sexual. Just as he was getting his hard on under control Derek came into the kitchen, his shirt mysteriously missing and his feet bare. Ok they’d been bare before but damn now he just looks uber sexy, like porn worthy. Stiles felt his breath hitch a little when Derek moved in close, backing him up against the sink. They were so close Derek had to feel his erection, it had jumped back to life the second Derek stepped into the kitchen. Derek nuzzled his neck again but this time Stiles could have sworn he felt him smile. It sent shivers down his spine, literally, pushing him even closer to Derek. Voice squeaky he asked, “Everything ok Der?”  
The older man nodded against his neck and kept nuzzling him, Stiles felt a scrape of teeth and a flash of tongue. Derek and the sink were supporting him now, his knees had given out entirely. When Derek sunk to his knees in effortless grace Stiles had to grip onto the sink to keep his balance. Derek scraped his teeth over the bulge in his pants making him moan before tearing at the zipper. He was going to cum in his pants if he didn’t distract himself really soon, “Derek you don’t have to…God that feels good…But it’s not…Obligated…Oh fuck keep going…Don’t think because your wolf…Not really your mate so”  
Derek was across the kitchen so fast Stiles sagged against the sink and nearly toppled to the floor. Confused he pulled himself back up, getting an eyeful of bulge in Derek’s black jeans, and asked “Are you ok? What’s wrong?”  
Derek looked like he’d been run over by a truck, he looked like he had that day Stiles went to him about Isaac and it was painful to see that. To know that somehow he had made Derek look that way. “Tell me what I did Derek.”  
Derek tried to scowl, it wasn’t very effective but it hurt, he had barely frowned at Stiles since this whole thing started, let alone scowled. Stiles heard him mutter under his breath “Stupid teenage hormones…Benedict Cumberbatch” before racing out of the house without shoes or a shirt. 

What the fuck? Stiles took a breath, breathing in slowly to make sense of this mess. He didn’t get it, everything had been going great and then bam! It felt kind of stupid, but he knew Derek could hear him, so he said “Look Der I’m sorry if I did something alright. Whatever it was I didn’t mean to. I don’t get the Benedict Cumberbatch thing though, I mean yeah sure he’s gorgeous but my dick seems to prefer you so that can’t be it. Is it the mate thing? I know I said something about that, but honestly I was kind of high on endorphins and you were licking my crotch so that’s kind of fuzzy. I get it if this is just your wolf telling you to fuck me. I do I mean it makes sense. I’ve taken on the role as Alpha Mate so your wolf is probably begging you to mark me, but that would be weird and like dubious consent. I don’t want you freaking out in the morning saying you shouldn’t have done this. Well I guess that won’t happen now, but consent. I consent to pretty much everything, I want to try everything Derek and if you don’t want to be the one I try them with that’s fine. And it’s fine if you want to try stuff with other people as well, I don’t want to trap you. That’s like Officer and a Gentleman levels of creepy, which yeah you hopefully haven’t seen so then you won’t know what a sap I am. God this is, I’m going to stop talking now. You’re probably home by now.”  
Buttoning up his pants over his wilting dick Stiles fought back tears. He’d thought about it, how could he not? Derek had been the star in his fantasies even before Lydia declared her love for Jackson. They were going to share a life together, that didn’t mean they had to have sex, sure it would be nice. Tomorrow he would swing by the loft and talk things out with Derek. They could go back to being friends or whatever. 

Trudging through to the sitting room to collect the rest of the plates, Stiles froze in the doorway staring at Derek. He hadn’t left. Before he could figure out what to say Derek held up his hand and said “Don’t I need to talk first. This is. It’s not just my wolf, he’s wanted you since the first time we met. He’s had me shoving you into walls and brushing up behind you so I could touch you. So it’s not that alright. I’ve wanted to do that stuff too and not because of the mate thing. I’ve wanted it for a really long time now but you’re underage.”  
Stiles wanted to interrupt because seriously if that was the reason he wasn’t getting laid then they needed words, but Derek held up his hand again and looked kind of constipated so he let him speak. “You chose to become my mate, usually it’s the other way around. The wolf and the man pick someone they both want, someone who will protect and nurture the pack, so we already like you. You chose us Stiles. You gave us permission to touch you, to make you our mate. I should have explained it before, I meant to honestly. Things just got away from me. You can have someone else, I won’t make a big deal out of it or freak out about it, but I can’t. There isn’t anyone else I want or even could want because you’re my mate and that makes you mine in a way no-one else can ever be."  
He paused for breath, struggling to find the right words, "I stopped because I thought you didn’t want me like that. Your scent was driving me crazy earlier. I knew you were turned on and when you were talking, you said you weren’t my mate.”  
Did he have to fuck up everything? Seriously he couldn’t keep quiet for five minutes? Stiles was never ever going to speak during sex again because if that’s the stupid shit that came out of his mouth then it wasn’t worth it. Better to cum in his pants than hurt Derek like that. “It made me stop and I thought your arousal wasn’t for me. I want it to be for me. I want everything to be for me because you’re my mate Stiles.”  
He’s a man, he can admit how close to tears he was. He kept quiet though, letting Derek come to him, inching closer and closer, smiling as he sniffed him, “What’s the line from that band you like, you are the only exception.”  
Stiles was pretty sure that in this context that’s more He’s Just Not That Into You than Paramore, but that would involve admitting he’d seen the movie like fifty times, so he waited until Derek was in his personal space. As much as he wanted to reach out and kiss him, Stiles wanted to make something very clear first. There was no room for more misunderstandings, he never wanted to see Derek that hurt again. So he bared his neck in an offering of submission and trust. 

Derek growled loudly, tugging at Stiles’ hips to bring them pelvis to pelvis, so he could shove his face into Stiles’ neck. There was a scraped of teeth and then hesitation, Derek hovered over his neck afraid to proceed. “Derek I am your mate. I don’t want anyone else, not ever.”  
Stiles had barely gotten the words out when he felt Derek’s teeth bite down hard enough to make him cry out. Once the bite was deep enough Derek lapped at it with his tongue, maybe werewolves had healing saliva like the vampires in True Blood. He would have to investigate that, later like when Derek wasn’t grinding against him in the kitchen or gnawing at his neck mumbling “Mine” every few seconds. By the time he came up for air Stiles had a perfect bitemark on the junction between his neck and shoulder marking him for the rest of his life as Derek’s and damn if that didn’t go straight to his dick. Derek didn’t seem to mind though tearing at his pants and picking up where they’d left off earlier. 

\------------------------------------------------------------ 

He was mobbed by a gang of feral werewolves outside the school. Well feral puppies maybe. They were waiting in the parking lot for him to arrive. He knew he looked good in the skinny jeans and fitted shirt that actually showed off his definition, but he didn’t even have time to lock his jeep before he was being pinned against the door and sniffed and cuddled, Derek’s beta’s trying to cover themselves in his scent. They would have to talk about this later, they couldn’t go around scent marking him in school, it was weird. Forcing them to move back a little so he could lock his jeep he caught sight of Lydia and Danny further ahead and in the path of their respective Alpha exes. Stiles pushed out of the group of puppies and put his hands in his pockets, trusting the beta’s to grab his bag. It wasn’t quite an interception, he got to Lydia and Danny the same time they did, but at least they arrived together. The twins tried to push past him to get to his packmates, but Stiles held his ground. Aiden, or Ethan, he gets them muddled, grabbed his arm to pull him away when the other twin stopped him. With careful hands the other twin tilted his neck to bare the bitemark Derek had given him. Smiling viciously the twin said “You’re making it so easy for us Stiles. We’re going to rip Derek’s heart out.”  
Stiles felt a thrill of fear but he quickly squashed it down and plastered on his own smile, before swiping his hands down to break their holds on him. 

Startled they pulled back, a line of blood on Aiden’s right forearm and Ethan’s left, or the vice versa, he gets confused. They laughed. He didn’t get offended or let it phase him, just shoved his hands back into his pockets. The laughter didn’t last very long, in fact in was soon replaced with frantic scratching. The cuts weren’t healing, if anything they were getting worse. Leaning into their personal space Stiles told them, “It’s my own blend. I soaked it in a wolfsbane and mistletoe solution then painted it with mountain ash. You might want to get it looked at, you wouldn’t want it to fester.”  
The twins snarled, their eyes flashing red, but continued to tear at their flesh while Stiles led Lydia and Danny to their class. Lydia smirked, but it was Danny who asked, “What the hell Stilinski!?”  
Pulling his hands out of his pockets he showed them the two pencil compasses he had doctored. Lydia laughed so loud the entire hallway turned to stare, confused Danny asked, “Why did you paint them red?”  
That just made Lydia laugh harder, which was good, she didn’t laugh nearly enough anymore. “I’ve got a little kit prepared for both of you, they should be ready by tonight so drop by after school and I’ll talk you through everything.” 

The rest of the day was uneventful really. The puppies followed him around, knocking against him in the hallways and sitting too close during classes but he was getting used to it. Every once in a while he would catch a glimpse of Scott staring at him, almost puzzled. His last class was chemistry with Harris but since the dickwad was still missing, presumed sacrificed by the Alpha’s, Ms Blake was their teacher instead. It was uncomfortable to sit there covered in Derek’s scent and Derek’s cum –he hadn’t let him shower before school- in front of Derek’s almost ex. It was even more uncomfortable because this was one of the only classes he shared with Scott. Scott tried to sit next to him, sniffing him as he pulled out the seat, but Lydia pushed him aside and sat there instead. He looked like a hurt puppy and it killed him to see Scott like that. It killed him that they weren’t speaking but he knew this was the best for everyone. He had practically begged Scott to choose him and he hadn’t. Lydia squeezed his fingers gently and set up the experiment for today. 

There was no lacrosse because coach was sick of them, so Stiles waved the pack ahead and waited for Ms Blake to finish up. He was grateful that Derek hadn’t slept with her, but he wasn’t stupid, he knew where that relationship was heading. Ms Blake had sent Derek a tonne of flirty texts and Derek had replied, at least he had before Stiles became his mate. It probably counted as going slow. Derek and Jennifer were going slow, they’d had a few coffee dates but not much else had happened. If that was it Stiles would have just left it and she could figure it out on her own but she knew about werewolves, that made her Stiles’ problem. Fiddling with the zip on his hoodie he decided to just go for it, “So werewolves are a thing and I know that you know that so if you want to be pack that’s fine.”  


Apparently that was a little too abrupt because she dropped her books and smashed her coffee mug in surprise. Scrabbling to help her pick everything up Stiles continued, “So do you want to be pack?”  
“Stiles right? Shouldn’t it be Derek here not you, no offence but you’re a kid.”  
Well offence taken. “If you don’t want to be pack that’s fine but we won’t protect you if you’re not.”  
“Why isn’t Derek here? Is he ok? He hasn’t been answering my calls.”  
Stiles heard the growling from outside the door, he should have known they’d wait for him. It made Ms Blake jump though, only Stiles’ hands on her books stopped them from falling again. “Look I’m offering you a place in the pack. Not as Alpha Mate, Derek’s mate, because that position’s already been filled. We’d love to have you in the pack though.”  
He was lying but it’s not like she could tell. When you took away werewolf superpowers, Stiles was an excellent liar. She twisted her fingers in her hair, hesitantly asking, “What do you mean it’s been filled? Does Derek have a girlfriend?”  
He almost felt bad for her, but Derek hadn’t so much as kissed her so she should get over it pretty quick. “Boyfriend actually. Think about our offer and I’ll get your answer tomorrow.”  
He carefully picked his way over the shattered mug and cold coffee on the floor, making his way out to his packmates. Isaac was on him as soon as the door opened, hugging him so tight he could hardly breathe, but it felt nice all the same. He didn’t look back, there wasn’t any point, she would never be pack, not now Derek was off the market. Just thinking that made him happy.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out a lot more angsty than I had anticipated, honestly it just sort of happened.

The pack were in the sitting room surrounded by empty boxes of pizza and warm soda bottles. It was time to sort this out once and for all. Tugging the door open for his father, Stiles grabbed one of the packages wobbling in the sheriff’s arms and ushered him into the kitchen. Depositing the packages, hopefully his new hoodie would be in there, he gripped his dad’s arm stopping him from leaving. Staring pointedly at the wrist attached to his arm the sheriff asked, “What’s up son?”  
Screwing up his courage and reminding himself that this had to be done Stiles tried to speak but the sheriff got there first. “Christ you already know. Look I was going to tell you today actually. I just wasn’t sure how to say it. I know I haven’t dated much since your mother passed, well there was Natalie from the daycare but I think we can both agree that was a disaster, so this kind of snuck up on me. Is it too weird for you that I’m dating your best friend’s mom?”  
Ok back it up there, what now? Dad was dating Melissa? Dad was dating? When did that happen, how did he miss it? Ok not the point. Dad deserved to move on and Melissa was awesome, they would be perfect together and she was practically his second mom anyway. He’d been quiet too long, his dad was freaking out, his eyes bulging and his hands wringing. “Dad that’s great. Melissa is amazing and it’s time you moved on. Not that I had any clue about any of this, but I’m happy for you.” 

His dad sagged a little in relief, his hands running through his hair and smoothing over his uniform before he startled, “Wait why are you nervous then? What did you want to tell me?”  
Here goes, be cool, be calm, be confident. “So werewolves are a thing, I’m part of a pack, alpha mate actually so yeah. Almsot everyone’s inside if you want to meet my pack.”  
Peter and Cora were out running the perimeter and wouldn't be back for hours. He knew the wolves could hear him. He could almost feel their joy or at least Derek’s joy. He’d been feeling things all day actually, like listening in on someone else’s conversation, he’s been feeling Derek’s emotions. He’d ask him about it later when his dad didn’t look like he was going to spontaneously combust. This sort of crumpled look came to his dad’s face, like he was disappointed about something, and it physically hurt seeing his dad doubt him like that. “This isn’t the reaction I had hoped for son. I thought you cared more about me and Melissa than to try to pull some stupid stunt like this.”  
Stiles forced himself to keep still, to fight down the urge to run into Derek’s waiting arms and hide like a child. Instead he took his father by the hand and led him into the sitting room. Lydia was on the couch beside Isaac, her fingers rustling his hair with Danny pressed against Isaac’s legs. Derek had muted the movie, keeping his gaze locked on Stiles, silently asking if he was ok. If Stiles could feel what Derek was feeling then it probably worked both ways in which case he was going to stay between Derek and his dad cause Derek’s eyebrows were doing that down wiggle thing that meant he was building to pissed. The sheriff stopped in the centre of the room automatically picking up the empty pizza box and rummaging inside. 

Casually, not that Stiles was going to fall for it, he asked, “Stiles who are these people and why is Derek Hale sitting on my couch. Actually how about you start with that.”  
He stepped into his father’s view of Derek, stepping just close enough so Derek could run a hand across his back without his dad noticing. “I told you dad, this is my pack and Derek is my alpha. Derek if you wouldn’t mind please.”  
He didn’t look back, didn’t have to. He could feel Derek looming over him, well trying to, they’re practically the same height now. He watched his dad make an aborted move for his gun (which Stiles had cleverly removed when he brushed past him earlier) the glare at Stiles for removing the gun, the step back away from Derek like he’s a monster and finally the gesture for Stiles to run towards daddy and away from the big bad wolf. 

“Dad Derek is a werewolf and my boyfriend.”  
Derek growled a little at that, pressing his body against Stiles, reminding him of what they really are, but dad wasn’t taking this too well so it was best to keep it simple. It took his dad a few tries before he was able to get out anything other than profanities, finally shouting “What the fuck?!”  
Stiles motioned at Isaac to sending him to get the whiskey. “Christ Stiles I don’t even know where to start. Is this, is he who’s been killing everyone? Have you brought a monster into my home?”  
Well shit. Derek was pressed up close enough against him that he felt the full body flinch the sheriff’s words elicited. He knew no-one else would see it or notice any change in Derek, but he could feel how much that hurt him. He backed up a little, ramming himself even further in Derek’s personal space, shielding him from his father. Of course to his dad it probably looked a little too intimate, too close, too everything really and he watched it flash across his father’s face that their relationship wasn’t welcome. Derek’s fingers bit into the skin of his back, hot under his shirt but he used it like an anchor to keep him calm. He let Isaac pour his dad a glass and when he knocked it back and tried to take another, Isaac looked to Stiles and Derek for permission before backing away with the bottle. “Give me the bottle kid then you can all go home. This is family business, Stiles will call you in the morning.”  
Isaac sat back beside Lydia leaning against her for comfort. 

His dad’s stance was defensive when he stood, trying to intimidate the pack into leaving but as one they looked to Stiles and Derek, confirming their right to be there. When their alpha’s nodded they settled back into their places, ignoring the sheriff entirely. “Dad Derek is not a killer. He is in no way responsible for anything that has happened around here. He’s been trying to stop it, trying to help people, you should be grateful.”  
That was maybe a little angrier than he had intended, but this wasn’t going the way he had hoped. “Stiles he’s a werewolf they shouldn’t exist and frankly even if they do you shouldn’t be involved with them. How could you be so stupid Stiles? You’re supposed to stay safe and instead you’re running around with monsters and dragging Scott into it most likely. Is he a werewolf too?”  
He tried not to let the hurt show, keeping his face impassive he replied, “He is actually, he’s not pack though. And it’s not stupid. I’m protecting people just like you do.”  
Derek was gripping him so tightly that he could feel blood trickling down his back but it didn’t matter because if Derek let go he would lose it completely. “How am I supposed to react to this Stiles? You want me to tell you everything’s ok because you’re shacking up with a monster? Don’t think I can’t see what’s happening here. You’re underage Stiles that makes it rape, should I arrest you for bestiality too?”  
Derek’s growl reverberated through the room. Isaac pushed his head into Lydia’s lap and Danny moved up onto the couch, covering Isaac with his body. “Dad that’s not. I don’t know what to say to that, except you can’t arrest him. I won’t let you. You should talk to Melissa, she knows everything that’s going on. Maybe she can make you see things the right way for once.”  
“There’s no right way for this Stiles. He’s a monster, they all are, even Scott.”  
He brushed at the tears forming, refusing to let them fall. 

Stiles jerked his head at the others who one by one filed out the door. Speaking in short precise words he told his dad “I’m happy you have Melissa dad. I thought you might be happy for me too but I guess that’s too much to ask for. I’m staying with Derek for a while. Call me when you figure things out.”  
His father crashed back into the seat, letting the weight of the day drag him down while Derek inched them both forward, pushing them out of the room. When he reached the door he stopped, slamming into Derek, “By the way dad I’m gay. Even if I do dress this way.”  
From the corner of his eye he saw his dad reach for the abandoned bottle of whiskey before Derek nudged him out of the room. Danny scooped up the bag Derek had made him pack earlier just in case and Lydia went through today’s mail and packages, carefully picking out what belonged to Stiles before following Isaac out to the car. 

He couldn’t do it, it hurt too much to just leave, but Derek’s nails were still digging into his skin, the contact reminding him of where he belonged now. Derek kept him moving out of the house, slowly closing the door behind them. How was he supposed to do this without his dad? How could he do anything? He wasn’t a grown up, he was just a kid! Derek’s arms wrapped around his stomach, his chin resting on Stiles’ shoulder, so Stiles could feel his every breath. “You have me and the pack Stiles. We love you.” He nodded jerkily the tears blurring his view, a fine trembling starting to wrack his body. He turned in Derek’s grip holding him so tightly he’d have broken ribs if Derek was human. He buried his face in Derek’s neck and cried while Derek scooped him up and positioned them both in the back of the car, without once jostling Stiles or making him move away. Derek knew exactly how hurt he was. Derek would make it ok.


	9. Chapter 9

He looked a wreck he knew that. Then again he thinks to himself, it’s not every day you find out monsters are real and your son’s in love with one. He probably should have had a shower before he came but he just couldn’t spend another minute in that house. Not without Stiles. He banged heavily on the door listening to rushed footfalls come closer and closer until Melissa was in front of him her eyes taking in everything. He didn’t know what to say, how he was supposed to react to any of this so he let her wrap him in her arms and hold him close. He was grateful he hadn’t finished that bottle of whiskey, he didn’t want to come to her reeking of booze. He let her pepper him with kisses and drag him inside to the living room. She waited until he was settled on the couch with his shoes off and a coffee in hand before she asked, “Does this mean it didn’t go well? I haven’t told Scott yet so if you want to wait then that’s fine John. We can give Stiles some time to come around.”  
She was hurt. He could see that quick flash of pain that she tried to hide. They hadn’t really worried about how Stiles would take it. Between the two of them it was more likely Scott would freak out than Stiles. He was too practical that way. Chugging his coffee like it was alcohol, he nodded “No he took it well. So well in fact that he decided to introduce me to his boyfriend.”  
Melissa’s hands covered her mouth and her eyes widened, not in shock but surprise. She was surprised he had managed to get a boyfriend, not that he wanted one. Christ was he the only one who hadn’t known? “You knew. Why didn’t you tell me Melissa?”  
She brought her hands to his shoulders rubbing lightly through the material of his shirt. “Oh John I couldn’t just out him like that, it wouldn’t be right. How did you handle it?”  
He laughed, how could he not? “Badly. I handled it very badly. He blindsided me Melissa. One minute he’s my kid running around wanting to marry Lydia Martin when he grows up. The next she’s sitting on my sofa with some kids I don’t know while Stiles tells me he’s dating Derek Hale who's a freaking werewolf! What was I supposed to say to that?” 

The light pressure on his shoulder had disappeared and from the side of his eye John could see her watching him cautiously. “Stiles is dating Derek Hale?”  
This time his laugh was real, lacking the bitterness of the previous one. “God Melissa I tell you werewolves are real and you want to know about Stiles’ love life? Yes he is dating that twenty four year old two time murder suspect. He’s, God Melissa he’s trying to kill me! My gay underage son is sleeping with a monster and all you care about is who that monster is.”  
He didn’t have to look to see her frown of disapproval but before he could fix it, apologise or explain or anything really Scott was crashing down the stairs and bouncing into the living room. He might have jumped in his seat a little and reached for his gun before he stopped himself. Melissa saw it though, her eyes wide and horrified. Scott seemed oblivious though shouting “Stiles is dating Derek? He told you that? What else did he say?”  
John looked at the kid, his uneven jaw and big puppy eyes so familiar to him. He had known Scott for years, since he was just a baby barely big enough to walk. How could this kid be a werewolf? He was good and kind and probably the most decent person John had ever met, so how could he be a monster? Melissa was staring between them now putting things together in her head. She held one hand up to Scott keeping him quiet while she turned her body to face John, telling him “They’re not monsters John. They’re the same as anyone else good and bad. Being a werewolf doesn’t change that. He is still my son and I love him. It doesn’t matter that he howls at the moon or occasionally chases rabbits. He’s my kid and Stiles is yours. They’re good boys John and so is Derek. You need to give them a chance. They’ve done a lot to keep everyone safe, gone through more than any kid should to protect us, the very least they deserve is to be treated like people. I won’t have you in my house John if you’re going to disrespect my son.”  
She didn’t raise her voice or turn it into an argument, just told him sincerely how she felt. 

She was right, it had been a massive shock and he wasn’t sure how he was going to deal with it all but Stiles was a good kid he wouldn’t be on the wrong side of the law or well whatever the supernatural equivalent is. Ducking his head in apology he let his hand rest on Melissa’s knee rubbing little circles into her skin when she didn’t bat him away immediately. “I might have over-reacted just a little. I’ll call him tomorrow after he’s had some time to calm down. I think I really hurt him Melissa. I didn’t mean to I just didn’t take it well and reacted. He’s spending the night with Hale.”  
Melissa wrapped his fingers in hers edging closer to him. “You’ll fix it John Stiles loves you. Now problem number two. Scott.”  
The boy jumped to attention, his eyes skipping over their joined hands, “Why didn’t you know Stiles was dating Derek and why hasn’t Stiles been around in weeks?”  
That was news to John. Stiles was always at Scott’s or Scott was at Stiles’ that’s the way it had been since they were kids. 

Scott shuffled uncomfortable on the carpet, his eyes cast down and his shoulders tense. Whatever he was about to say he knew they wouldn’t like it. “We’re not speaking.”  
John was tempted to ask why but Melissa kept quiet glaring her son into explaining. They boy didn’t last thirty seconds before words were tumbling out his mouth fast and high pitched, “He joined Derek’s pack! He went all Nazi leader and started making alliances with the hunters and telling us how we had to be in Derek’s pack or we weren’t allowed stay here. He’s gone crazy mom. He knows I don’t want to be in a pack and definitely not Derek’s pack. I know you think he’s an ok guy but he’s a douche mom. He was supposed to let me kill Peter so I wouldn’t be a werewolf anymore but he didn’t!”  
John would have to find out about that later. “Stiles knows I don’t like him so why would I want to be part of his pack? But Stiles just kept going on about how bad I was for betraying Derek and how Derek didn’t even want me anymore. I mean why should I care if Derek’s feelings are hurt? He’s a big boy he can take it. And I saved us! I saved everyone from Gerard but all Stiles seems to care about is how much it hurt Derek. I refused to be in his pack so Stiles isn’t speaking to me anymore. He’s off playing house with Derek, making the betas sandwiches and driving them to school. He’s acting like their mom mom! He won’t even look at me and it’s been weeks. I thought he would get over it I mean we were all kind’a friends before even though Isaac was in Derek’s pack and I wasn’t but now nobody will talk to me. They’re not telling me what’s happening with the Alpha’s or how they’re trying to stop them. Stiles says I have to leave town as soon as I finish school mom. This is Derek’s territory and I’m an omega so I can’t be here anymore. I’m so sorry mom I didn’t know how to tell you.”  
Scott was openly sobbing now, tears pouring down his face as his mother sat in silence taking everything in as the boy wailed, “I made the wrong choice!”  
Melissa wrapped him in her arms, letting him cry onto her shoulder and soak her new blue blouse. She whispered nonsense into his ear until he was calm again, his shuddering breaths evening out. 

When he was calm enough she let him go sitting back into John’s embrace and letting Scott sink to the floor dejected. Melissa grabbed his hand squeezing his fingers tight and John could see how freaked out she was. He didn’t know anything about werewolves yet but judging by Melissa’s deathgrip on his fingers this was very not good. Melissa looked down at their clasped hands for a breath, probably thinking about what to say before she told Scott “You made a bad decision. You’ve known Stiles all your life, followed him everywhere, you should have followed him Scott. Being an omega isn’t something any wolf wants. You need a pack Scott and Derek -I know you don’t like him but you couldn’t have killed Peter Scott. You just couldn’t. It would have destroyed something inside you and it probably wouldn’t even have worked. You would have lost a piece of yourself and ended up being the Alpha. How could you cope with being responsible for others when you can barely look after yourself? You couldn’t even control you shifts then Scott. Derek made the right call. He’s already damaged and he might never have wanted to be an Alpha but he was still better prepared for it than you could have been. He was born a werewolf Scott, he knows how a pack is supposed to function even if he hasn’t quite gotten the execution right yet.”  
Scott tried to say something but she shushed him continuing on, “Stiles is your best friend and he always has been. He forgave you for kissing Lydia so once you promise not to betray Derek again and to obey the pack laws I’m sure he’ll let you become pack.”  
Scott was shaking his head in denial, his voice thick with unshed tears when he told them, “You didn’t hear him mom. He meant every word.”  
Butting in John ran a hand through Scott’s hair, smiling at the boy, “Scott Stiles will forgive you it’s what he does.”  
Scott shook his head again, the tears falling fat and fast, “No he won’t sheriff. He said it, he said it in that voice. The one he used to tell you you weren’t allowed to drink anymore. He said it like he was done. I know that voice sheriff. I know what it means. He’s finished with me and it’s my fault because I was dumb and didn’t listen when he begged me to be his pack.”  
John’s hands froze in Scott’s hair, the magnitude of what had happened crashing into him. Stiles was done with Scott. 

Melissa didn’t seem to get it, encouraging Scott to apologise and not just to Stiles but to Derek as well. Handing Scott money and helping him to his feet he sent him out to get pizza tossing him the keys to the cruiser. He waited patiently for the engine to start and even more patiently for Scott to get the car into gear and out of the driveway. He suddenly remembered why Stiles never let Scott drive the jeep. The boy was a terrible driver. When he was sure he was gone, he settled closer to Melissa kissing her deeply, making her pant for breath. “What was that for?”  
He smiled at her, overly bright and fragile at the edges because he knew this was going to hurt, “Stiles is through with Scott.”  
She pulled her fingers from his, “Don’t be ridiculous. He’s just hurt and upset. He needs some time and a whopper of an apology from Scott.”  
He kept shaking his head, willing her to see it. “No Melissa he won’t. Not if Scott is right and he, not in that voice. He gets that from his mother you know. She was the same. She could be all sweet smiles and forgiveness but once you crossed that line there was no going back. He means it Melissa. Scott must have really fucked up to let things get this bad. I don’t know much about this omega and pack business but I’ll find out about it tomorrow.”  
She bit her lip, her teeth leaving little indentations in the skin. “You really think he won’t forgive him?”  
She tossed her curls out of her face, her hands shaking slightly. Stiles and Scott were like brothers, this didn’t just affect Scott. It would affect Melissa too, she would be losing a son. “Yeah I do. I’ll talk to him though. It might help that I’m in love with Scott’s mother.”  
He watched it sink in, her eyes welling up and her hands fluttering before she pulled him into a kiss so deep that when he came up for air half of his soul was missing. “I love you too John. So much."  
He would deal with Stiles tomorrow and apologise to Derek for being horrible. He would try to fix this, to mend their broken family, but right now Melissa and soft and warm beside him and Scott wasn’t in the house so. . .


	10. Chapter 10

He brought curly fries and take out. He had a lot of making up to do and he wasn’t sure how that was going to go but this was a start at least. He rang the bell and waited. He was buzzed up in less than a minute. He wasn’t exactly surprised by Hale’s address. It wasn’t an awful part of town but it wasn’t great either. Frankly the only thing he was surprised about was that it was a loft and getting out of the lift, he could see just how huge it was. He knew the kid didn’t have a job, there wasn’t anywhere around here that would employ him, so he’d expected him to be broke. Of course life insurance on eleven people adds up to quite a lot. 

He was going to be nice and apologise and do his best to make up for all the shitty things he said. With a caution more appropriate for a drugs bust than meeting his son’s boyfriend, John made his way into the open loft. He could hear muffled noises coming from upstairs. The boy from the couch yesterday, Isaac came barrelling out of another room, planting himself in front of the sheriff. “Isaac right? Sorry if I was rude yesterday, I was freaking out a little.”  
The boy smiled at him, blue eyes sparkling as he said, “Oh that’s ok. We knew you wouldn’t take it that well. Stiles is still pretty upset though. Is that food?”  
He passed the bags of chicken and fries to the kid and let him set the table while he waited. He could hear Stiles’ voice upstairs cajoling someone to do something. He couldn’t really hear the words, but the tone was familiar and something he had only ever heard used on him and Scott. Whoever he was talking to wasn’t buying it though. In another minute, Stiles was being shoved down the stairs by Derek, his palm on Stiles’ back directing him. It was strange seeing Stiles like this, letting someone else lead him. He was always so independent. But maybe that was his fault. Stiles had had to grow up fast when his mother died. John didn’t have the time to baby him or lead him by the hand. Since then his kid had taken the reins in the house and in all other aspect of their lives. His kid was an adult and he wasn’t even seventeen. 

Derek placed Stiles in front of John, his hand still on Stiles’ back keeping him there. Crossing his arms Stiles waited in silence for him to say something. John couldn’t take it, it was unnerving Stiles being this quiet. He couldn’t help but be reminded of last night and he felt a little like Scott when he blurted out “I’m sorry. I handled everything terrible Stiles. I’m not. It was a lot and I wasn’t prepared for any of it. But you’re a good kid. You’re my kid and I love you. I have no issue with you being gay. We’ll need to have another safe sex talk but other than that it’s fine. As for Derek.”  
The slight relaxing of Stiles’ muscles stopped and went rigid again when he mentioned Derek. “Melissa says he’s a good guy and I’d like to get the chance to know him better.”  
His son was softening he could see it. Addressing Derek directly he apologised, “I’m sorry Derek. I shouldn’t have accused you of those things or hurt you like that. I hope you can forgive me and we can get past it.”  
The other man paused a fraction before he looked at Stiles then back at John. “I would like that sheriff.”  
He extended his hand and John, desperate for his son’s approval took it and pulled the man in for a hug. Derek flailed slightly, but he submitted to it with reluctant grace. When he stepped back Derek immediately hid behind Stiles, wrapping his arms around Stiles’ shoulders and rubbing his face against his neck. It was weird but he obviously cared for Stiles and Stiles needed affection in his life. Lord knows he didn’t give it to him enough. He couldn’t even remember the last time he hugged him. He would have to fix that. Going back to his apology, he smiled at them both and said “Now I’m fine with Derek and being gay and a werewolf, I will however be demanding dinners. Wednesday I expect everyone at my house for spaghetti and meatballs. I want to meet your pack Stiles. If they’re your family then they’re mine. That’s just how it works.” 

John’s not quite sure how he did it but Stiles was in his arms and hugging him tightly while Derek gripped air and looked confused at the space where Stiles used to be. He hugged his son tightly feeling able to breathe for the first time since last night. He hated fighting with Stiles. All the lying and keeping secrets had been killing him but they don’t have to do that anymore. Now Stiles can tell him everything. He kept hugging until Stiles was ready to pull back, rubbing his back gently. He had barely left his arms and Derek had him in his. Maybe this touchy feely thing was a werewolf kick? He would have to look that up, maybe watch a wolves special on Geo. Now that everyone was speaking again, Isaac cautiously broke into the group, reminding them that there was food. Stiles took over the second he was reminded, tutting at Isaac for forgetting the ketchup. He sent the boy scurrying into the kitchen while he made up the plates. John took his seat and smiled as Stiles fussed over Derek and Isaac. Stiles had barely sat down when there was a beeping coming from the kitchen. Stiles was on his feet and rushing inside like there was a fire, muttering under his breath too low for John to hear. He came back a few minutes later with chocolate across his cheek and a smile from ear to ear. “It’s ok, the brownies didn’t burn.”  
He settled in again next to Derek and let the older man scrub his face with a napkin. 

They had waited for Stiles before eating. John had a curly fry at his lips when he realised the others weren’t eating. Derek had explained, “Isaac can’t eat before me and Stiles and I can’t eat before Stiles. You can go ahead though.”  
It was strange but John went with it, putting the curly fry back onto his plate. Now that Stiles was back he shoved it into his mouth without hesitation savouring the elicit treat. He was never allowed curly fries, or chicken, or anything that even remotely tasted good. He wasn’t under any illusions he knew that tomorrow he would be back to healthy bland food and mountains of vegetables. Curious he asked, “So how come you all have to wait for Stiles to eat first?”  
Derek grinned happily. That’s the first time he’s ever seen that expression on Derek’s face and it’s nice but kind of sad too. The other man explained, “I’m the Alpha that means I eat first. But because Stiles is my mate my wolf feels the need to care for him above all else, so my wolf won’t let me eat until he does. The others just have to wait. It’s only a little thing. It doesn’t really affect us that much, especially since Stiles eats everything the second he sees it.”  
Stiles scowled while the three of them laughed. Derek had a nice laugh, deeper than his actual voice and his whole face lit up with it. John had some chicken and let the conversation drift, but there was a thought niggling at the back of his brain that he couldn’t ignore. “So you said mate earlier, is that a real thing then?”  
Stiles squirmed uncomfortably in his chair and Isaac shrunk in a little on himself and damn if that didn’t hurt. It was like he’d kicked a puppy. It was Derek who answered his fingers gripping Stiles’ tightly, “Yes sir werewolves mate for life and Stiles is mine. It’s something we’re still figuring out. We know it’s a big commitment but we can do it and Stiles is still going to college.”  
John nodded along listening carefully and watching Stiles’ face as Derek spoke. His kid was completely in love with Derek Hale and going by what Derek was saying, it was mutual. 

“Alright then, so does that make you pack mom?”  
Isaac laughed so hard he fell off his chair. Derek hid a smile and Stiles glared daggers at them all. He had obviously hit a touchy subject. “I’m the Alpha Mate. I look after the pack’s physical and emotional wellbeing. So yes I am their mom, but a totally badass one who will fuck anyone up who tries to hurt them!”  
It came out fierce and wildly over-protective, but Isaac crawled over to Stiles and put his head in his lap and let Stiles stroke his hair. It was great seeing his kid so at ease with other people. He was usually twitching and flailing, but here he was relaxed and John couldn’t help but wonder if that was because of Derek and all the weird touching that seemed to be going on. None of it was sexual, but one of them was always touching him, stroking his arm or brushing against his shoulder. It went both ways too. Stiles made sure he was in physical contact as much as possible with these two men. Once Isaac was back in his chair with another heap of chicken on his plate (which Stiles had sneakily stolen from his plate under the death glare and threat of “Your Heart Dad!”) John decided it was time to ask the hard questions.  
“I know the past year has been crazy for everyone and I do want the full run down on that, especially with Peter. Scott said Derek killed him, but I ran into him at the store last week so that needs an explanation. Right now though, I just want to know about Scott. He’s practically your brother Stiles and the kid is devastated. He was bawling his eyes out last night like a three year old.”  
He knew he didn’t have a lot of leeway on this, not after last night, but he could still guilt trip his son a little bit. Derek’s fingers bit into the table and Isaac quietly shovelled food into his mouth so he wouldn’t have to speak. Stiles’ silence was tinged with fury, his face red and his eyes glittering with anger. He took a moment to compose himself before saying, “Dad Scott chose not to be pack. I practically begged him to join us alright. He’s my brother and I love him but you have no idea what an idiot he’s been. All the stupid shit he’s pulled this year. He doesn’t get that the end doesn’t justify the means. He thinks he’s some big hero because he stopped Gerard, but he was working for Gerard. He used Derek in a really horrible way and he didn’t even care. He betrayed the pack before and he doesn’t see what he did as wrong. That’s a problem dad, like a huge one with fucking neon signs overhead.”  
He didn’t bother to reprimand him for his language, Stiles was too upset to care right now. He let him rant on “I wanted him to be in my pack, to be family but he rejected us. This was his decision dad and yes it was the wrong one. I’m sure he realised that almost right away but he hasn’t learned his lesson and Derek doesn’t trust him.”  
There was a glance between Stiles and Derek that John couldn’t quite parse, but before he could ask about it Stiles told him in a small voice “Neither do I.” 

Well fuck! Stiles was through with Scott. He would have to get the full story out of Scott later. He wanted to know how and why he betrayed Derek. He had helped bring up that kid, he should know better than to betray his friends. Changing the subject he asked Stiles, “So when are you coming home?”  
The three packmembers shared covert glances and Derek squeezed Stiles’ fingers. “Tomorrow dad. I’ve got to help Derek with some stuff tonight-” John cut him off, “Please I don’t need to know about your sex life Stiles. I am sticking to ignorance is bliss.” Isaac was laughing again, almost choking on his curly fries. Stiles passed him his coke and spluttered, “Christ dad no! I’m helping Derek with the Hale house. We’ve just found a contractor and we need to look over the plans and figure out what changes we want made.”  
God that was so grown up he didn’t even know how to respond so he barked out “You’re building a house together?” He maybe should have toned down the incredulity just a notch, but damn! It was Derek who replied, his ears tips red, “The pack needs a house. My loft is too small and it’s the way I was brought up. Pack stays together as much as possible.” That sounded kind of nice actually, but his kid was sixteen and building a house with a man. He already had a family and oh jesus fuck, “Does this mean you can have kids?”  
Stiles went white, his entire face bleached of colour and turned to stare at Derek who’s ears had gone from red to nearly purple. Both Stilinski men stared at him waiting for him to deny it, to laugh at their stupidity, but Derek stared down at his empty plate and whispered, “It’s a possibility. I didn’t think we needed to talk about it yet though.”  
John kept quiet absorbing the information and let his son shout “What the fuck! How could you not tell me that? What if I ended up pregnant Derek? That is not ok! I love you but I am not having your ass babies!”  
Derek’s eyes flashed red, or maybe John imagined that, his hands held Stiles’ face in place so he could kiss him deeply. It was way too much for a dinner table certainly too much considering John was right there! But Derek took his time, only pulling back when Stiles was panting for air. “I love you too idiot. I’m the one that could have the babies not you. You’re human dumbass.”  
Sometime during the kiss Isaac had taken the empty plates and gone to hide in the kitchen. John was seriously tempted to join him. He felt like an interloper. It was clearly the first time Stiles had told Derek he loved him and it was private and intimate. 

He was however a Stilinski and they didn’t do intimate, so about two seconds after Derek cleared things up Stiles was eyeing John looking for a way out. He only did it because he was in the dog house (hah dog house!) any other time he’d have let Stiles deal with the emotional crap by himself. Clearing his throat to get Derek’s attention, he smiled brightly and asked the other man, “So when do I get to be a granddad?”  
It was worth it just for the startled yelp Derek let out and the adorable way he flushed red. John could see why Stiles was so taken with him. 

Whatever reservations he had had, and there had been a lot, were slowly disappearing. He was truly ecstatic that they could have kids. It wasn’t an option for most gay men, who had to depend on adoption and surrogacy. He and Melissa had discussed it last night along with the many other things he was freaking out over. This one went firmly in the werewolves are awesome column. He would have to tell Melissa, she would be delighted. Hell she’d probably have a nursery set up and everything. Deciding not to be too mean, he brought the conversation back to their plans for the Hale house. Isaac came back in with coffee and still warm brownies, yeah, this was going to be ok.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the super short chapter guys.

Stiles waited until everyone was settled in front of the television, Monster’s Inc playing while they munched on pizza and junk food in the sheriff’s house, before dragging Derek out of the living room and into the back garden. He shushed him with a finger to his lips as he poured pink ash around them in a circle. Once it was complete he took his finger away from Derek’s lips and explained “I needed to speak to you alone and with this they won’t be able to hear us.”   
Derek arched a brow silently demanding a reason for these extreme measures. In response Stiles tugged a beat up envelope out of his back pocket and passed it to Derek. “Boyd gave it to Cora. You were right, they kept in touch, nothing too overt just the occasional text message. Until today when he gave her this, she didn’t know what to do so she gave it to me.”  
Derek ran his fingers along the seal of the unopened envelope, saying “Well at least now I know why she got the last slice of pie.”   
The entire room had fought over that slice of pie and when Isaac triumphed as the winner Stiles had ignored them and given it to a blushing Cora. This at least explained why, because Derek hadn’t been the only one baffled by it. “She deserved a treat for being so good. It’s called good parenting Derek. Now open the letter already.”  
Derek held it in his hands, flipping it over again and again to Stiles’ frustration. It had taken every inch of will power Stiles possessed not to open it and now Derek was teasing him with it! 

In a low soft voice Derek asked him “Why didn’t you open it Stiles?”   
As much as Stiles loved him, he could be really dense sometimes. “I’m not the Alpha Derek you are. Besides it’s not addressed to me and I’ve already broken enough laws as it is.”  
A little smile tugged at Derek’s mouth before he told him “You are though. You’re doing a much better job being the Alpha than I am. I could, I mean if you wanted I would turn you and step down?”  
It was hesitant and hitched and Derek meant every word of it. It was heartbreaking and Stiles hated that he would even think something like that. Stiles threw his arms around Derek’s shoulders pressing his body against Derek’s and speaking low into his ear “You are my Alpha Derek. You’re doing a good job taking care of your pack and I would never want to take that away from you. We’re mates and that means that I love you and I protect you and care about you. I will never try to hurt you or take away who you are ok?”  
Derek nodded his head in silence, pushing his face into Stiles’ neck. Stiles felt the tears trailing across his neck and soaking into his t-shirt. He held Derek tighter, letting him cry on his shoulder until his breath came in shuddering gasps. He soothed Derek as best he could, letting the older man take his time. It killed him that Derek was so touched by someone just trying to be decent and care about him. People are supposed to care! It’s what separates them from the monsters. 

Once Derek had himself back together he opened the letter with shaking hands, reading through it quickly and then handing it to Stiles. “It’s a formal request to become a member of the Hale pack again. He wants to come home Stiles.”   
He sounded hollowed out and raw, his emotions all over the place from minutes ago so Stiles wasn’t sure how much of that was from earlier and how much was for Boyd. “Do you want him to be pack again Derek?”  
This was Derek’s decision, he was the Alpha and Stiles would follow his lead, but Boyd had hurt them all by leaving. He had rejected Derek twice. Derek scrubbed his eyes with the back of his palm, getting rid of any wetness there before he spoke “I don’t know. I think we’ll need to give it some thought and then maybe talk to the pack about it. It’s a really big decision, I don’t want anyone to think that I’m a pushover. Most Alpha’s would never let a pack member leave and to then try to return. It’s unheard of.”  
Stiles kissed under Derek’s jaw once, twice, small little kisses to show he understood how hard this was for him. When Derek pushed his fingers into his hair the teenager groaned loudly and surged forward to capture Derek’s lips. Boyd could wait, right now no-one could see them and none of the wolves could hear them, so he was going to take advantage of his gorgeous mate and show him exactly how much he was loved.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> This is just a tiny little chapter to get us back in the swing of things.   
> Sorry.

Lydia found his body, a bullet between his eyes and his legs ripped off. She screamed and screamed and the sound bounced through the trees and ricocheted around the entire town. It sent shivers up spines and made the supernatural quiver but she couldn’t stop. Tentatively Peter pressed his hand to her shoulder, blinded by grief and anger she softened into the touch, relaxing her body against his as she sobbed. Derek flinched at the sight, his breath hitching so Stiles wrapped him in his arms and muttered into his hair, “You didn’t do this Der, they did and we’ll make them pay.”  
He nodded slowly, not believing him completely but he could work on that. They needed to act swiftly, the Alpha’s would be expecting some form of retaliation even though Boyd wasn’t in the pack anymore. He was just a bystander caught in the middle. The letter was still in Derek’s pocket, the paper crinkled from overuse. They had decided only this morning to let Boyd become pack again, to be one of them. He would never know that now.


	13. Chapter 13

Aiden and Ethan had been violently ill for going on a day now and nothing Deaucalion did seemed to be helping. If anything they were getting worse, both pasty and barely able to breathe let alone move, he was forced to call in outside help. He went for Deaton himself, worried what Kali might do if Deaton refused, she had a soft spot for those boys. It was probably the only soft thing about her. Deaton was too useful to have him hacked to death by an angry she-wolf. 

The surgery was empty but he could hear Deaton in the back, moving around quietly, murmuring to the animals in a soothing tone. He wasn’t able to get past the mountain ash barrier at the front desk, so he cleared his throat and said, “We need to talk.”  
He heard the other man freeze, his heart rate barely elevated though and seconds later he was moving towards him. “I can’t think of anything we need to discuss.”   
He was not in the mood for this. The twins were dying and Hale had somehow turned from easy prey into a worthy adversary. He did not appreciate Deaton wasting his time by prevaricating. “I want to know what you gave Hale. The twins will die without it.”   
He might not be able to see, but he could hear Deaton’s smile in his voice, “I didn’t give Derek anything.” That was truth. “Very well, his mate then, the boy?” His hearbeat chugged loudly once before he got it under control. It was the mate then, Stiles. He had done this. He was almost impressed. “I haven’t spoken to Stiles in weeks. My relationship with Derek offends him.”  


“He thinks you chose poorly, picking Scott over Derek like that?” Well until recently Deaucalion would have agreed with Deaton. Scott was the better choice. He had the potential to be a True Alpha, a real threat to Deaucalion and the pack. But that was before he broke up with Stiles and seemed to lose whatever reason he had. It turned out that even someone with as much potential as Scott, needed an Alpha to obey. Stiles is seemed was more than he first appeared. Instead of being the annoying sidekick Deaucalion had taken him for, he was Scott’s Alpha and now led the Hale pack with an assurance and strength no-one would have expected. Apparently not even Deaton. “The wolfsbane he used, do you know what it was?” He heard Deaton wipe his hands on a cloth, taking his time before he answered. “No. Something of his own invention I imagine. Stiles is incredibly resourceful and can be quite imaginative when he needs to be.”  
That much was evident when he poisoned the twins the first time. 

There was something nibbling at his brain, eating around the edges that he couldn’t quite figure out. Then it hit him. Peter Hale. Stiles was the reason he backed out. He had to be the one Peter was talking about. The older man was obviously afraid of him. While it didn’t make sense that Peter would be afraid of a human boy, it was the only thing that made sense. Obviously Deacualion hadn’t paid enough attention to him in the past. He would need to fix that. He could drop in, say hello, ask after everyone’s health and find out what exactly Stiles cooked up in his lab. He nodded to Deaton and turned away, anxious to find the boy who was killing his pack. “You should know, the boy, Stiles. He’s dangerous, truly dangerous Deacualion. You would be better off taking your pack and leaving while you can.”  
He kept walking, leaving the vet behind even as his words haunted him. He was not afraid of a little boy. 

He was bleeding heavily, his sides cut and his leg bent awkwardly, but he kept moving forward. He was almost safe, just a few more steps and he would be at the den. His encounter with Stiles had not gone as expected. The boy didn’t even hesitate before he doused him in wolfsbane and attacked him with a metal bat. Disoriented and in pain, he fought back as best he could, but he couldn’t sense the boy, his scent had disappeared completely. He thought he was gone until he felt the bat bash against his kneecap blowing it open. Then came the knife, thin and edged with something foul it sliced through his flesh and singed his skin. He was on in his knees in less than a minute and that had never happened before. 

Even though his claws were out and his eyes were flashing, his instincts were telling him to submit. For the first time in his life, his instincts had betrayed him. The boy moved in close, the bat hanging loosely between his fingers, as he whispered, “You kill one of mine, I’ll kill two of yours. That wolfsbane I dosed you with, it’s from a different batch. It won’t help the twins. This is about consequences Deaucalion. Take responsibility for your pack and your actions and I’ll let them live. You’ll have to be quick though, I can’t imagine they’ll last much longer.”  


Through the eyes of his wolf he saw him then, a mighty Alpha protecting his pack. This boy was as much wolf as any of them, more even. He might not change with the moon, but his teeth glistened in the darkness and his eyes sparked amber in the night. This boy was the True Alpha. Unable to stop the whimper escaping he dragged himself to his feet, edging away from the boy, his wolf beating a hasty retreat but unwilling to show his back. Stiles didn’t follow, he laughed though. A high boisterous noise that sent shivers down his spine and now he understood. Peter was right to be afraid. This boy would eviscerate anyone who stood against him. This boy was the real enemy.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked for Derek being all Alpha-ish and that somehow turned into Derek being all dom-ish, so yeah don't really know how that happened.

  
Derek was pissed, worse than that, he was scared. He was trerrified that Stiles could have been really hurt, he didn’t think he’d be able to cope if he lost Stiles, not after everything else. He didn’t have it in him to start again. This was it his one shot to have a normal happy life and if that meant he had to step up to protect it, then so be it. He was the mother fucking alpha and anyone who questioned that would bow before him. The pack showed his their throats the second they entered the room, Isaac was practically belly flat on the floor in supplication. It made his guts twist to see him like that, but this is what being an alpha meant. They were supposed to respect him, he had earned it. He could smell their shock premeating the air, his sister’s astonishment and silent approval. Even Peter seemed to embrace this new aspect of his personality, not that it was new precisely. This side of himself was something he carefully hid from everyone, something he hadn’t been able to tap into in a long time. Now that he had though, he felt stronger, more in touch with his wolf and his pack. He could taste their emotions, Lydia’s surprise and Danny confusion. He tucked it all inside himself and held it close.

They settled around Stiles in a circle, no-one touching him, just watching. Danny reached out a hand to steady the boy but Lydia stopped him, cradling it between her own delicate fingers. Stiles had over-stepped, had gone too far and it could have gotten him killed. When this started he was eager to let Stiles take over. He couldn’t do it anymore, was barely holding his shit together before more collapsed on top of him. It was too much and Stiles was everything he needed. He gave him the support to keep going, built his confidence back up, protected the pack. He did everything an Alpha mate was supposed to do, but he wasn’t the Alpha and despite Derek’s own insecurities, it was time to admit that he was in fact their leader. He made eye contact with each one, swirling slowly in a circle, each member of his pack broke and glanced down as they should do. There were a few sly looks to Stiles though and that was to be expected. “Stiles fought against Deucalion. He didn’t tell anyone, didn’t call for the help of the pack, of his alpha. He put his life in danger when he could have stayed safe within the walls of this house. He disobeyed my direct orders and endangered everyone and for that he will be punished.”  
He didn’t normally like an audience for this kind of thing. Usually he had the privacy of a bedroom or the back room of a club. 

He pushed aside the twinge of guilt that gripped him. This wasn’t a scene, Stiles hadn’t agreed to this, they hadn’t even discussed Derek’s penchant for leather let alone anything else. Shaking his head he pushed that thought aside, this needed to be done. It wasn’t about sex (although Derek would probably use it to jack off to at a later date) this was about dominance. Derek was the Alpha, Stiles was his mate, it was not the other way around. He turned his back on Danny and Lydia and picked up the crop. It was short and not particularly heavy, a toy really, not something he would typically use, but he had found it in Stiles’ closet and hadn’t thought to bring his own so it would have to do. Stiles was kneeling, his head bent forward and his back stripped bare. For once he wasn’t twitching or shuffling, his hands bound firmly with a belt and a tie gagging his words. He looked beautiful, it was almost a pity that the others had to see him like this. 

The first stroke made Stiles jerk forward, a gargled sound ripping through the gag. The second made him tense all over. He made sure to hit the same spot each time, he wanted Stiles’ skin to burn with the heat of it. By the tenth stroke Lydia was struggling to keep Danny in place. Stiles’ breath was ragged, sweat beading on his body despite the cool tempeture of the room. He started to sag at the thirteenth hit and Derek had to pull him upright by his hair. He smelled it then, this close to Stiles it was unmistakable, his lust, his need. It made his wolf curl up in a ball of satisfaction. Two more strokes and he was done. Stiles’ middle back was covered in thick red welts, nothing too bad, he hadn’t used his full strength. After all Stiles was still human and he didn’t want him hurt. That’s what this was all about. 

He dismissed the pack, waving them away from Stiles when they edged forward. Only Peter and Cora held back, they knew better than to touch him. Talia had never let anyone touch her mate after something like this. He knelt down in front of Stiles, brushing his fingers across his cheekbone as gently as he could, before he removed the tie. He kept his touch firm but soothing as he undid the belt trapping his hands and pulled the boy into his embrace. When he deposited him on the bed face down he was careful to never leave the boy’s sight. Stiles was watching him so intensely but he didn’t seem capable of words. Peter had left a bowl of ice and a fuzzy towel on the locker so Derek settled beside Stiles on the bed and wrapped the ice in the towel. The first touch made him flinch, the icy cold too much on his back, but after a moment Derek tried again and listened to the little whimpering noise Stiles made. 

He ran his fingers through Stiles’ hair and whispered to him, “You understand why I did that right?”  
The boy still didn’t speak but he leaned into Derek’s touch as much as he could. “Answer me Stiles.”  
“Yes. I understand.”  
He hadn’t expected Stiles to like this part of him, let alone enjoy it, but the teenager was deep into subspace now and snuggled against Derek as much as he could. He had thought that this part of his life was over, that Stiles was too dominant to ever enjoy something like this and although Derek was more than willing to accommodate Stiles in bed, he was not and had never been submissive – not sexually at least. “Next time we’ll talk things through first. I want to know exactly what you’re comfortable with and what you’re willing to try.”   
Stiles murmured something too quiet for Derek to hear, his hand reaching out to wrap around Derek’s waist. Gently he shifted Stiles over further on the bed and settled himself down beside him. He let Stiles’ contentment settle over him, whispering against his psyche. “You scared me Stiles, smelling Deucalion on your skin, with blood staining your clothes. I thought I’d lost you.”   
The human mumbled out a heartfelt apology, promising to never do it again, but that was probably the subspace talking, although he hoped not. He didn’t want to have to discipline him like that again. He preferred his scene’s to be pretend and to end with them both strung out on hormones and covered in cum. While Stiles was strung out neither one of their erections were getting what they deserved. He couldn’t reward Stiles for bad behaviour and Derek refused to inject a sexual element into today until Stiles could consent and actually mean it. Overall though he felt better, that gut clenching fear that had grabbed hold of him when he first saw Stiles was gone. The crippling insecurities and fears that had been seeping into the edges of his brain and tearing at his heart had lessened now. They were manageable. He could do this, with Stiles by his side he could do anything.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, sorry about the huge delay, but I've been seriously blocked.  
> Anyway, hope you like it.

Cora didn’t know how to deal with this. Her entire pack was in disarray. Their Alpha mate was hunched over in their chemistry class, leaking anxiety and uncertainty. Danny, typically laid back, was practically frothing at the mouth in rage. He kept brushing up agasinst Stiles in between classes, checking he was ok. Stiles was so out of it he didn’t even notice anything was wrong. Cora was keeping an eye on it though, she wouldn’t let Danny say anything bad about Derek, especially not to Stiles while he was feeling vulnerable. That was the heart of it really, Stiles felt vulnerable and that feeling had invaded the pack bonds, making everyone worry. She didn’t know if she was supposed to do something about that, if she should explain to Stiles how their pack had always worked. It would probably be better coming from Derek, but getting him to talk was like pulling teeth sometimes. 

By the time class ended she had screwed up enough courage to broach the topic. She almost made it too, but Lydia got their first. She dragged the boy into an empty classroom and nodded at Cora to keep watch. She felt oddly grateful that someone else was doing this, she didn’t really want to discuss her brothers sex life. It was something she mostly tried to ignore; she had demanded that every bedroom in the new Hale house be completely soundproof, listening to Peter jack off was something not even brain bleach could eradicate. So she squared her shoulders and faced into the hallway, glaring at anyone who came close. She kept her ears open though, listening carefully to everything Lydia told Stiles. 

It wasn’t how she would have done it, or even similar really, but it was worth listening just to hear Stiles squeak when Lydia forced him to take her copy of Fifty Shades of Grey. Cora couldn’t resist glancing at the pair, Stiles was bright red as Lydia told him, “I’ve sent you several links to more reputable sources as well, I just figured you'd enjoy reading about someone even more possessive than Derek. The most important thing to remember is that you need a safe-word. Give it some proper thought Stiles, it needs to be something that will stop Derek cold. It doesn’t matter if it hurts him, all that matters is that it doesn’t hurt you. You are the Alpha Mate and in this context, the sub. The sub actually has more power than the dom, you can control everything with one word. Derek has to earn your submission, he can’t demand it. Last night wasn’t the best start and I know that’s probably freaked you out, but you enjoyed it and Derek, he lit up with it. Alright, I have an algebra test in ten minutes and you have your elective so off you go.”  
The boy blushed through the entire conversation, his ears tipped red and his head bent down, gaze locked firmly on the books in hand. He didn’t smell anymore anxious than he had earlier, embarrassed mostly. He took a couple minutes to gather himself up, shoving the books deep into his bag and leaning against Cora when he passed in the doorway. She shot an arm around his waist, careful of his back, to help him walk. He was stiff and sore, she could smell the blood and bruises, but he would be ok. By the time they made it to woodwork he was talking and joking like normal, his anxiety lessened by Lydia’s talk. 

Woodshop was one of the few classes Scott still shared with them. The teenager was across the room and pushing against Cora the second he smelled Stiles’ hurt. It made the boy startle backwards, flailing his arms out, it wasn’t enough. He slammed his back into the table, nearly retching with the pain, his eyes tearing up. White knuckles held onto the table top, desperate to stay upright. Cora shoved Scott back, probably harder than she should, to help him. She ran her hands over his face, stealing his pain, as she whispered words of comfort. She wasn’t really aware of what she was saying, but the soothing noises helped ground him. He stopped making those horrible gasping noises and pain filled hisses. She levered him off the table, careful not to make things worse, but she could see the blood soaking through his shirt already. He was sticky with it, his face sheened with sweat and his eyes wide. 

Scott bounced back like a fucking Frisbee, too close to either one of them for her comfort. Growling lowly she threw out her hands, barricading Stiles behind them. They needed to get out of here, Stiles was hurt and someone was bound to notice sooner or later. She needed to look at his back. The table he hit had a metal clamp sitting on top of it along with chisels and other things. Judging by the waves of pain that had rolled through her when she touched him, he had slammed into all of them. “Just take my hand Stiles, It’ll take the pain away, I promise.”  
The stupid puppy was trying to touch Stiles, hands darting around Cora for any bit of the boy he could reach. All it did was make things worse, Cora couldn’t take his pain if she was trying to fend off McCall. She backed up a little, so Stiles was pressed against her back, she couldn’t take his pain this way but close contact to his pack would help. “Don’t touch him McCall.”  
The true alpha turned those puppy dog eyes on Stiles, appealing “I didn’t mean for you to fall, I’m so sorry, I was worried ‘cause you smell like pain and anxiety and it freaked me out.”  
Stiles’ hands fisted in the back of her sweater, his breathing ragged, but he kept control, telling the other boy, “I’m not your concern anymore Scott, but I’ll be fine, I think I’m just going to head home.”  
He inched them out of the room slowly, refusing to look away from Scott. Cora could feel the intensity of the glare and chuckled when Scott broke eye contact first, looking away like any good beta would. True alpha her tail! 

They almost made it out of the classroom, would have too, if Mr Grant hadn’t halted in the doorway, his heart elevated and eyes locked on Stiles’ soaking shirt. He hustled Stiles to the nurses station, dragging Scott behind them both (Cora had glared him into submission; she was not leaving her injured packmate alone!). The teenager tried to keep his shirt on, citing all kinds of stupid things, but apparently self-esteem issues was not a good enough reason to wear a shirt. She felt his panic rolling through their bond, swamping her with the intensity of the emotion. Minutes later Lydia was bullying her way into the nurse’s station, Danny and Isaac in tow. Cora let her shoulders relax a little now her pack-mates where there. Lydia would know what to do. 

Unfortunately Lydia wasn’t fast enough, Mr Grant manhandled Stiles’ shirt off while Scott held Cora back. She was going to rip his throat out with her teeth as soon as she could figure out how to make it look like an accident. One look at Stiles’ back and Grant was calling 911. The bandages were sopping wet, blood leaking through them like a faulty faucet. This morning they were pristine white, smelling of antiseptic and faintly Derek. Now they looked like something out of a Tarantino film, the desk and clamp had ripped open the bloody marks and created a dozen more. There was a bloody imprint of the chisel and the clamp had left gouges in his skin. Stiles tried to argue, tried to tell them he fell, it was an accident. Grant ignored him and started snapping pictures on his cell, documenting the evidence. His eyes traced over the imprint of the riding crop, his face set in a scowl, before putting away the phone. He made a half -hearted attempt to clear the room, but Lydia arched a brow and the boys shuffled closer. Even Mr Grant knew better than to take on Lydia Martin it seemed. The nurse fussed around, not really doing anything, technically there wasn’t much she could do; Grant wouldn’t let her clean the wounds until the sheriff arrived. 

By the time he did, Stiles was shivering with cold and shaking with pain. He needed medication or a werewolf leaching the ache away, but Grant didn’t want them touching him. The Sheriff’s eyes went wide and scared when he saw the bloody shirt on the floor and his son’s pasty face. He kept his silence as he walked around his son, examining the wounds carefully, eyes boring into each pack member before he asked, “Who did this son?”  
As one their pack stepped forward, desperate to protect their alpha and his mate. The sheriff wouldn’t understand, not with Stiles looking like this. He held his hand up halting their steps. Cora couldn’t help but delight in the little frisson of alarm their movements caused Scott. It wasn’t enough to snatch her focus away from the sheriff though. He looked ready to murder someone. Stiles side eyed Grant and the nurse before blowing out a breath and admitting, “It was Derek.”  



	16. Chapter 16

Cora felt like she’d been struck. The pack bond rippled with betrayal and hurt. It ricocheted between each pack member, although Danny let out a breath of relief. Only Isaac stepping close to the boy stopped her from pouncing on him. The sheriff turned to his son in shock, his face white and mouth gaping. It was clear he didn’t know what to say, which was fine because Cora felt the exact same way. Before he could gather his thoughts, Stiles continued, “I wanted to try it. I’d thought about it before, a lot, but I wasn’t sure Derek would like it. Turns out we both did. Most of the damage is from woodwork, I slammed into one of the tables, it re-opened some of the cuts and ‘cause most of the others.”  
It took Cora a minute to realise that the shock reaching through the bond belonged to the sheriff. Without meaning to he had somehow joined their pack. He waved a hand at the nurse, indicating she could start cleaning him up, while he paced around the room. He made six laps, ignoring all of Grant’s attempts at conversation, he only stopped when Stiles was bandaged up again and asking for a shirt. Scott had his off in seconds, throwing it across the room at Stiles. The sheriff caught it and tossed it back. The wide eyed confusion and hurt on Scott’s face made her leap for joy. When the sheriff took Isaac’s outstretched hoodie she couldn’t resist the too loud, “take that motherfucker!”  
One look from the sheriff had her apologising, but it was still totally worth it. 

Once Stiles was zipped up the sheriff nodded and said quietly, “Stiles, I have no problem with Derek, you know that.”  
He held up his hand again in warning when Stiles tried to interrupt, continuing, “All that matters to me is that you are safe and everything is consensual. Was it?”  
Cora had to bed forward to hear Stiles’ reply, “Yeah dad, I kind of loved it actually.”  
The sheriff nodded again, then pulled his son in for a crushing hug, pulling back when he hissed in pain, “Sorry, sorry. Ok let’s get you home then. I suppose you lot will be coming as well?”  
All four of them nodded in agreement, Isaac shot under the sheriff’s arm and helped Stiles down from the table, leaching his pain as he did. Mr Grant was blustering about underage sex and the sheriff’s questionable parenting skills but everyone ignored him. They formed a little huddle around Stiles, a barrier protecting him from prying eyes (and Scott). Mr Grant followed them outside, threatening to call their parents if they went with Stiles. Isaac laughed and shouted out Derek’s phone number, the teacher actually wrote it down, fully intent to call Derek. 

Their alpha was waiting for them in the parking lot, Peter kept a steadying hand on his shoulder, holding him in place. It was obvious he wanted to race over to Stiles, but Peter kept him still, waiting patiently for the sheriff to reach them first. The sheriff leaned into Derek’s personal space, so close they were breathing the same air and said softly, “He says he agreed to this and maybe he did, but next time you play those games you better make damn sure he’s okay before sending him back to school. I don’t want a repeat of this Derek, we’ll have a problem if there is.”  
Derek seemed sincere when he told him “yes sir”, but Cora could feel how desperate he was to get to his mate. He would have agreed to anything just to get to Stiles one second sooner. It appeased the sheriff though, he waved at his son and the others before he got into his cruiser and went back to work. The second he pulled away Derek was wrapped around Stiles, fingers tracing his injuries and taking his pain as he kissed him reverently. 

They were so wrapped up in each other they didn’t even notice the growling until Peter was stumbling into them, wolfed out and angry. Derek caught him by the arm, shoving him next to Stiles as he confronted a fully wolfed out Scott. The boy was saying something almost indecipherable through his fangs, “You son of a bitch! I thought it was the twins, that’s why they weren’t in class today,I should have known it was you. It’s always you! Your fault I’m still a wolf, your fault Kate tried to kill me, your fault Mr Argent hates me, it’s your fault Stiles left my pack!”  
Derek felt each insult like a physical blow, the pack bond shook with the force of it, but instead of crumbling or letting Stiles take over (the boy was already shoving past Isaac and Peter, shouting out Scott’s name), Derek let the fury shine in his eyes, red flashing bright in the afternoon, “You’re a shitty alpha Scott. Stiles was your pack and you threw him away. You’re too immature to lead a pack, too immature to do anything but fuck up. I tried to help you and you betrayed me over and over again. So don't you speak to me like that! I am the only alpha in this territory; my territory Scott, with a fully functioning pack. The only reason you’re still breathing right now is because Stiles loves you, you keep acting like an asshole and that won’t hold me back much longer. Now shift back to human and get to class, before someone sees you.”  
The younger wolf didn’t seem to know what to say, he glanced once at Stiles, but whatever reaction he was hoping for, he didn’t get. Derek on the other hand decided to ignore him completely and steered his pack over to their cars and helping Stiles into the Camarro. For the first time since she arrived back in Beacon Hills, it felt like her brother was really alive again, like she had a real pack. Lydia tugged her along to her car, running her hands through Cora’s hair in comfort, promising, “We’re going to cuddle up on the sofa with tons of junk food as soon as we get home.”  
That sounded wonderful.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I felt there needed to be a serious discussion after the events of the previous two chapters so here it is.

He waited until the others had left and it was only him and Derek in his dad’s living room. Then he waited some more, he needed to be certain none of the other wolves were still in ear shot. Once he was sure they were gone he let himself collapse onto the sofa, folding up on himself as much as possible. Derek was by his side in an instant, reaching out to take his pain, Stiles shoved his palm flat out at the alpha, stopping just before he touched skin. In a low careful tone, he told him, “You do not get to touch me.”  
Derek flinched away like he’d been hit, his wolf howling in confusion at his mate’s words. “Don’t give me the puppy dog eyes Der, I’m not falling for it.”  
He needed to be on his feet for this, stumbling up he paced around the room while Derek stayed perfectly still. Wolves did that when they didn’t want to be seen. Furious and hurt, Stiles let his emotions loose, “You do not get to touch me without my permission Derek. Last night was not ok and if you ever try something like that again then I will leave your sorry ass in this no good town! You lay one finger on me without my express consent and I will walk and never look back, to hell with you and to hell with the pack!”  
The wolf was still frozen on his haunches, pressed up against the sofa, his eyes big and wet and dammit, Stiles would not feel bad for this! 

Taking a deep breath and managing to find some reserve of calm, Stiles hunkered down to Derek, running a thumb across his cheekbone, “Our pack is about love and understanding and acceptance. It is not about physical abuse and punishment. I know that’s how you were raised, Peter and Cora are proof of that, they had no problem with you hurting me, but that’s not right Derek. You don’t get to hit me just because I did something you don’t like. You don’t get to humiliate me in front of our pack either. I know you didn’t hurt me that much but I never believed you would raise your hand to me. You’ve been threatening to rip my throat out for ages now and I’ve never truly believed it, until now.”  
Derek let out this slow lost whimper that just about broke him, but he had to be strong. “We are in a consenting adult relationship Derek. That means that we both agree to something before we do it. In all honestly I have no problem with getting kinky in bed, so long as it’s only in bed and we agree to it first. If this is going to be something else then I will walk and you can deal with the Alpha’s and all this crap on your own. I won’t be in an abusive relationship and I’m not one of those people who will try to convince themselves that it’ll get better or that you didn’t mean it. You do it again and I’ll leave. Understood?”  


Derek was crying, tears trailing down his face and he hated that but he deserved better. He knew his self-worth and he wasn’t going to let anyone hurt him, not even Derek. Carefully, he lifted his arms in a come here gesture, two seconds later, Derek was wrapped around him, sobbing into his neck muttering, “I’m sorry Stiles so sorry. I shouldn’t have, but mom always and I swear I won’t ever again, not unless you want to. Not unless you ask.”   
Stiles ran his fingers through the soft hairs at the nape of his neck and whispered soothing words. Last night hadn’t been terrible, in all honesty he had enjoyed part of it, he liked being tied down, hadn’t minded the first few hits too much, but he hated being on display like that for his pack. He hated that they saw him crying and begging and that he couldn’t comfort them when they needed it. The pain in his back this morning had been neglibible, he was more stiff than anything, it was the chisel and workbench that had cut him up not Derek. So he would ask, there had been a part of him that loved seeing Derek in charge, it had been such a long time since Derek had seemed ok enough to be in charge of anything that it kind of turned him on. He liked the idea of Derek telling him what to do and holding him down while they fucked. Kissing Derek’s cheek, Stiles whispered, “I will ask Der, I swear I will. If things had been a little different last night, no pack and maybe a quick discussion first then I’d have loved it. I promise I won’t let this one thing ruin that for us.”  
Derek’s mouth was latching onto his before he even finished speaking, soft and salty from his tears Stiles took everything Derek gave. Pulling back, gasping for breath he saw the wolf still lurking in Derek’s eyes, “I love you so much Stiles.”  
Leaning forward again, Stiles straddled his lap and wrapped his arms around Derek’s neck, nipping at the skin there, “Come on Fido, take me to bed so you can make it up to me.”


End file.
